Taynara Conti Discusses WWE Release, Meaning Behind Her Infamous ‘Released’ Shirt

Tay (formerly Taynara) Conti is one of the many former WWE wrestlers stepping onto the indie scene during a pandemic. However, she’s perhaps the only one who had a preview of the reaction to her leaving, as rumors about her release circulated months before any of the bad times. In a talk with Sportskeeda, Tay talked about that unique situation and the on-air event that commented on it.

Surprisingly, Tay didn’t ask for her release initially. She was trying to work with NXT officials to refresh a stagnant character that had made her unhappy to come into work. “I was trying to find a way to be happy and to do my job well. To be, like, good for me and good for the company. I was talking to them, and I was asking, like, for options. Like, “Hey, can you give me an opportunity to show this better? What should I change? Do I need to change anything?” The answer always came back “No”, which was frustrating to hear. “Well, I don’t want to work here if I’m not happy, you know?”

After the rumors of her release circulated, Tay wore a “Released” shirt on NXT television, seemingly as a response. However, Tay wasn’t just trolling the wrestling media, she was attempting to create a new spin out of the opportunity. “The idea behind it was like, I’m getting released from who I was before. That was the idea. I was never able to show that, but that was the idea. You know, like, “Here is my handcuffs, and getting released from who I was in the past.” Now it’s a new Taynara.” After one night, that idea was scratched, but Tay still had no plans of actually leaving the company.

Of course, now that she’s a free agent, Tay has plans to do what she couldn’t do on the black and gold brand. She says she has a “BIG dream” to wrestle in Japan, and she’s just excited to experience new things.

I want to do it all, you know, ’cause I don’t know anything about wrestling outside of the WWE. Everything is so new for me, so I’m excited. I want to learn, I want to live everything. All the companies, I want to know everything. I want to meet new people. I want to wrestle with new people and learn from them. I’m just so excited.

The full interview also goes into Tay’s favorite parts of working for WWE and who she befriended in the company.