Lady Leigh has reflected on her WWE release, saying it came at a time when she felt her development was moving in the right direction.
Leigh, who previously appeared in WWE as Jin Tala, was released in October 2025 after about a year and a half with the company. Speaking to Women’s Wrestling Talk, she said she was not given a specific reason beyond it being described as a business decision.
She said the timing made the decision especially difficult because she believed she had just reached a breakthrough in her training at the Performance Center.
“At the time I was being released, I felt like at the Performance Center, I had just hit a wave of progress. So, it came to me as a shock because I finally, I was only there for a year and a half but I finally felt like I had potential.”
Leigh added that despite how hard the release was, she quickly decided to keep working rather than step away from wrestling. She returned to training the next Monday after being released on a Friday.
“I was released on a Friday and on a Monday, I was already back into a practice.”
Since leaving WWE, Leigh has continued wrestling on the independent scene, including appearances for Beyond Wrestling and Coastal Championship Wrestling.

Lady Leigh / Jin Tala Says WWE Release Came Just As She Felt She Was Improving

During the August 19 episode of AEW Dynamite, a major pyro stunt involving Darby Allin and Kevin Knight caused significant visibility issues inside the arena. The heavy smoke from the angle lingered for the remainder of the broadcast, drawing frustration from fans in attendance.
The incident occurred when Knight called out Allin ahead of their scheduled Falls Count Anywhere match at All In. As Allin walked down the ramp, he was caught by a pyro blast in what was presented as a malfunction. Knight then attacked Allin, who was eventually stretchered out of the arena to sell storyline burns from the incident.
While the segment succeeded in building their upcoming match, the resulting smoke failed to clear from the venue. Attendees posted photos and videos on social media showing a thick haze hanging over the ring and throughout the crowd, which lasted through the main event.
The poor visibility eventually led to live crowd backlash during the show. With the haze obscuring their view of the action, fans in the arena broke out into a chant of &#8220;We can&#8217;t see sh*t&#8221; to express their frustration.
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After Kevin Knight had pyro go off on Darby Allin, the after smoke is very much heavy in the arena. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/HouseofColors?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HouseofColors</a> <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/AEW?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEW</a> <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/AEWDynamite?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWDynamite</a> <a href="https://t.co/chtGHMg4Mr">pic.twitter.com/chtGHMg4Mr</a>
&mdash; House of Colors (@HouseofColors_) <a href="https://x.com/HouseofColors_/status/2090260779178070157?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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15 Minutes with no smoke movement <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/AEWDynamite?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AEWDynamite</a> <a href="https://t.co/86gx7T79Wu">pic.twitter.com/86gx7T79Wu</a>
&mdash; Alfred Baker (@ajb62787) <a href="https://x.com/ajb62787/status/2090262784059572481?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2026</a></blockquote>
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AEW Fans Chant “We Can’t See Sh*t” After Pyro Stunt Causes Visibility Issues On Dynamite

Injured WWE star Bronson Reed recently visited WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, adding fuel to ongoing speculation regarding his in-ring return. Reed shared a video showing his arrival at the corporate office, noting that someone had to hold things down in Stamford.
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Bronson Reed visited the WWE HQ <a href="https://t.co/2Pj4i5yn0p">pic.twitter.com/2Pj4i5yn0p</a>
&mdash; WrestleFeed (@WrestleFeedApp) <a href="https://x.com/WrestleFeedApp/status/2090865317308498127?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2026</a></blockquote>
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His visit follows recent reports from WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select indicating that internal discussions and promotional merchandising activity suggest WWE is preparing for his comeback. While no exact return date has been confirmed, the expectation is that he will be back in action relatively soon.
Reed has been sidelined after suffering a severe distal biceps tear in his right arm ahead of Elimination Chamber 2026. Before his injury, he was featured alongside Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, and Austin Theory as part of The Vision. Throughout his hiatus, he has shared updates showing off a transformed physique.
WWE reportedly has major plans for Reed once he makes his full return. Current creative discussions point toward him being pushed as a top-tier heel, with internal ideas including a potential feud with Oba Femi later this year.

Bronson Reed Visited WWE Headquarters Ahead Of Expected Return

TNA Hall of Famer Awesome Kong said WWE signed her after repeatedly seeing her in other wrestlers’ audition tapes, and she believes her release came about two weeks after she confronted someone backstage.
Speaking on the No Contest Wrestling podcast, Kong said she had planned to contact WWE after her TNA non-compete expired, but the company reached out to her first. She said WWE had already seen plenty of her work because many women used matches against her in their submissions.
“Evidently all the girls that were sending in their tapes were sending in their best matches, and their best matches on the indies, because TNA was pimping me out left, right, and center. All their best matches were me. So even though I hadn’t sent my stuff in yet, they had seen my stuff.”
Kong, who wrestled in WWE as Kharma, debuted on RAW in April 2011. Soon after, she said she became unusually exhausted while on a tour of Mexico and later learned she was pregnant. WWE then wrote her off television with an emotional in-ring segment on SmackDown in June 2011 before she went on maternity leave.
She said she was unhappy with that creative direction, though WWE agreed to adjust some of the wording before the segment aired. Kong later lost the pregnancy and never returned to WWE.
According to Kong, her eventual release was tied to a separate backstage issue. She said she was no longer willing to deal with backstage politics and spoke up when someone tried to assert authority over her.
“When someone pulled their power trip, I had to put on my clown suit and drive down there and let them know what I thought about that. So I got let go about two weeks after that, and I knew it was coming. I was like, oh, they’re gonna let me go after that.”
She did not name the person involved.

Awesome Kong Says WWE Fired Her Two Weeks After A Backstage Confrontation

Bryan Alvarez said a large number of wrestlers could become available over the next 6 to 18 months as AEW deals expire and WWE continues making roster cuts.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Live, Alvarez discussed how WWE and AEW built up large rosters in recent years while TV time remained limited. He said many wrestlers in both companies are currently inactive, and suggested AEW is more likely to let contracts run out than release talent early.
Alvarez said he has been given the impression that AEW will not make widespread cuts, but that many deals could end without much attention.
“I’ve been given the impression that there’s a lot of AEW contracts. [Tony Khan is] not going to cut people, but they are just going to quietly expire, probably like a lot of people. And there’s going to come a time, maybe six months, a year, 18 months down the road, where there’s going to be a lot of people available.”
Alvarez also said he expects departures from both major companies, creating what he described as a large pool of talent on the market.
“They’re going to be people leaving WWE. They’re going to be people leaving AEW. And there’s going to be a glut of talent available.”

Many AEW Contracts Expected To Quietly Expire Over The Next 18 Months

Former LWO member Santos Escobar has addressed his WWE release, saying he was caught off guard by the decision and felt it came just as he believed his next run with the company was about to begin.
WWE announced several departures on April 24, 2026, including Escobar. Speaking on TMZ’s Inside The Ring podcast, Escobar said he believed he had done everything needed to remain valuable to the company.
“I wasn’t expecting it, I’m going to tell you why. Because I think anywhere you work, there’s boxes that you need to check. And these boxes will assure that you’re necessary for that place to thrive.
In my case, I’ve worked extensively to check all of those boxes. You just mentioned I speak English, French, and Spanish. That’s one box. Can you talk on camera? That’s another box. How do you look? That’s another box. Can you wrestle? Can you really go? That’s another box.”
Escobar said the release came shortly after surgery, while he was doing daily therapy ahead of a television project in Mexico. He recalled being told not to come in for therapy because of a situation at the facility, then receiving the call while undergoing treatment elsewhere in Orlando.
He also explained why he believed his WWE future was secure. According to Escobar, he had allowed his contract to expire in October before agreeing to return after a conversation with WWE President Nick Khan.
“Nick Khan called me himself. He apologized for the way they had treated my character, not myself, my character. And he said, ‘We’re going to do it right. We’re going to do things right. I want to give you anything you need to thrive, to prosper, and I’ll sit you down with Triple H. We’ll get things squared and we’ll get going.’ And that’s the reason why I re-signed back then. So I had no reason to believe this was going to end anytime soon. I hadn’t even started my run.”
Escobar said he became a free agent at midnight when his previous deal expired and received the call to return the next day. Because of that, he said he had no reason to expect his release.
He added that the experience left him feeling disrespected, comparing it to how Mickie James said she was treated after her own release.
“You guys remember when Mickie James, she was released, and then they sent her stuff in a garbage bag? That’s how I felt. That’s how I felt, you know, but I didn’t want to burn that bridge, if that makes any sense. Because I think every time anyone does that, it hurts the business itself.”

Santos Escobar Says WWE Release Was Unexpected Because Of What Nick Khan Said To Him