Lana: Rusev Day, WWE Legends Deal, The Rock Segment, Bobby Lashley Wedding, Romantic Storylines

CJ Perry (@TheCJPerry) is a professional wrestler and valet best known for her time in WWE as Lana. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet at West Coast Creative Studio in Hollywood, CA to discuss the launch of her new podcast "Identity Crisis", taking time away from wrestling, her husband Rusev and his return to WWE, how the Lana character was pitched to her, being part of a hilarious moment with Nia Jax, being involved in multiple romantic storylines, and more!

How the first episode of her podcast went down:

"It went shockingly well. People are subscribing, people are commenting, people are invested. Our editor actually reviewed everything. They were shocked. They were like, This is the best podcast, the highest we've ever performed. So it's really encouraging. You're actually a big inspiration to me." 

What do you mean? 

"I've studied your podcast like no other. Probably about two years ago, I really wanted to start a podcast. I shot my first pilot, and it was not up to par. I was like, Ooh, I need to go and do more research. I'm a big person that when I decide to go after something, I dive in full-heartedly. So for two years, I would spend about four hours a day watching podcasts, dissecting it and everything, what works, what doesn't work. I'm always amazed, because you do mainstream media, but you also do wrestling, and yours just always perform so well. I've been following you for five years." 

On being the host of the show:

"I thought, oh, it'd be easier, because I love talking, I love being on podcasts, but I'm always on this side. So I always felt like I could almost control my own interview, even though I was the guest. I've already done 10 episodes, art edited them in the process, just to have some ahead of time, and I noticed I was having challenges controlling it."

On taking time away:

"I was really unhappy for a long time, and I think I first got triggered when I got released in 2021 from WWE. It was like my whole life. It was my dream, and I loved it. All my friends are there. You spend 300 days of the year with these women and men, and then you can't even come backstage again. I struggle with being very ADHD and severely anxious, and it just triggered me into this manic time of my life that I didn't understand that was an issue for me. So, actually it was Kendall Jenner on Jay Shetty's purpose podcast that she was talking about anxiety in 2021 and I was like, wow, that's me. I didn't realize how much my relationships were suffering from anxiety, and my marriage was suffering from me being severely ADHD and severely anxious. I think divorce rate is 50% more in ADHD people, depression and anxiety is 50% more in ADHD people, and suicide is 50% more in ADHD people, because nothing's good enough and you get bored and you want to move on. And so WWE was the perfect storm for me, because I was go, go, go, new city. Stimulation, stimulation, dopamine hit when you go and perform. Then when I didn't have all that and I had to make myself happy, I was turning to all the wrong things. I was even turning to Miro too much to make me happy, and also he was turning to me to make him happy. In reality, the only person that can make us happy is ourselves, and I had to do some severe changes. In 2023 I got MRSA, remember, with my finger. It was so bad. I think a lot of it was because I was so stressed and so anxious, and it shows you that your body, stress can kill us. And so we really have to take care of our mental health and our emotional health first, because that will affect our physical health." 

Did your WWE release in 2021 come as a surprise at the time? 

"I was shocked. I was on television and in big, big storylines the whole time. Had a great relationship with Bruce and Vince, everyone. I was devastated. But now looking back, I'm thankful, because that's life, and sometimes our hardest moments is our moments that teach us. Now looking back, I realize, not in a mean way, but nothing's guaranteed in life. We can't compare ourselves to other people, because we all have a different journey. And also, we don't live forever, so everything has to come to an end, so let's focus on all the great things I was able to have, versus it may be finishing too soon."

On her relationship with Miro:

"Things are really good [now]. He did file for divorce. We were very much like on, off, on, off for about a year before that [the separation], got separated and almost divorced several times before that. Yeah, the story on my podcast is true, according to me, he served divorce papers. Wanted them to get to me on my birthday, for whatever reason. I know it sounds so insane. I don't know what I did to my brain, the kind of the whole time I thought he was doing a storyline or something. I know that sounds so weird, like, now looking back, I'm like, I think I did that to protect myself, like, oh, he doesn't mean this. He doesn't mean this, he just wants to be separated. That was really hard for me, but it was one of the greatest moments of my life, because that was when I really cut myself off from the world. It was right after I got released from AEW, so it was like divorce papers, AEW release all in like a week. That was really hard because I felt like and me, Miro even talked about that, even if we got divorced, we want to work together still. So he had gone to Bulgaria. I was waiting for him to come back, and I was like, okay, I love Miro. He's my family. Even if we maybe at different moments, didn't see eye to eye, we weren't on the same page. We wanted different things there for a moment, we still had incredible love for each other, because I don't know, we’re family, we're best friends. We wanted to work together regardless. So Miro was really unhappy too when I got released, because he was also looking at AEW as like, take care of my wife, you know, ex-wife. So it got really complicated, but everything happens for a reason, and that's when I decided to take time off and not do any anything in wrestling. I wanted to go into the indie scene because I love wrestling, but I just felt like I needed to focus on my mental health and my health. And that was when severe change started."

What did that look like for you?

"So when I got the papers, I literally couldn't get out of bed for two weeks. I Then finally, I was watching Jay Shetty again, and Jay Shetty is like, if you're depressed, change your music, get outside in the sun for 15 minutes, take a walk, maybe move, if you can, be around new people. I literally did all of that, besides moving, I got out of bed, I started walking every single day for 30 minutes in the morning, and that already helped my mood. That already helped me become happier. I just think when I really focused on wellness, like going to therapy, acupuncture, working out better, eating very organic food, taking more vitamins, and then, just like really pushing myself to have an active life in nature, like go to the beach, go hiking, get into nature, that really helped me get so much happier. I also got sober. I stopped drinking. That was a huge part. I was prescribed prescriptions for my ADHD, and I had to come off of that. That was also a really big change. It's hard for me to read. I'm very dyslexic, so I do have other challenges, not having medication, but my happiness and my well-being and my relationships are so much better now."

On signing a WWE Legends deal:

"I'm still processing it. It's funny, because I would say it's been kind of controversial. One of the biggest things that I had on my podcast last week was announcing that I'm a WWE legend, and you thought I stole their Christmas presents or something, people were so mad. People were like, it's a stretch, and they're fighting, and then other fans are coming in and defending me. So I just want to acknowledge I understand, I was that shocked too. I absolutely understand that there's a huge difference between the character Lana and Randy Savage on the legend scale. I get it, but this is what WWE calls their contracts, being a full WWE superstar. My agent called me. I was crying. I was shocked. Yeah, they gave Miro a contract, and they gave me the WWE legend contract at the same time."

On how she got on WWE’s radar:

"So in college I was the most downloaded screen saver." 

What photo is this? 

"Just me in bikinis on the beach, I know it's it's crazy. I was shocked, too. And then I was on a big calendar, the cover of it and the big poster in there. And WWE saw that, and so they recruited me. They brought me down to Miami to a show. I was 22, I was amazed."

On how the Lana character was pitched:

"So Lana in NXT would come to promo class with Dusty Rhodes with at least five different characters and promos, not even kidding, with boards of storylines. I don't know if you ever saw GLOW, when I watched it, I was like, I think she took my real life story, because that's what I was doing. And Dusty loved it. Because, I don't know about everyone else, everyone else was like, You're doing the most. But was just working hard and Dusty loved it. He's like, you're going to have a very long career in this business. Because I was always like, Oh, you don't like this idea. What about these other five? And so me and Rusev started working. One of the five ideas I was working on was me and Rusev, but we were doing more comedy, and he was the Bulgarian trying to un-brainwash me. I was the Russian that became Americanized, and he wanted to un-brainwash me, and it was very comedy and fun." 

Were you guys dating at the time? 

"No, no, we were just friends. He would come over and we would shoot a bunch of promos, and I guess that's how we became close. Then the next thing I know, Dusty said to me, 'We only want you to do one promo. We want it to be serious and see what it looks like.' I did it, and then the next thing you know, Miro was like, let's do something serious. And then we were put together. We did one serious promo. He's like, let's not do comedy, let's do serious. And then next day, I was on NXT with him. I was just serious without an accent. And then Hunter pulled me aside. He's like, 'I want you to only talk Russian. Let's start this and we'll see how far [it goes.' And then it was just an evolution. Triple H was very hands-on. He's a genius. And he was like, 'Okay, let's try a different hair, a different suit or something.' So that's how the suit and the bun came about."

On the negative reaction to the Russia storyline:

"It was insane. People booing you, in comments, people telling you to go back to Mother Russia, it was crazy. I think I did notice a lot of hate. Partly the reason why I don't post on my family on social media too much is because I would post it like my little nephew, and people would just come for the child, like, 'Move back the Russia, you stupid child.' I was like, Oh my God, that's so inappropriate right now. So you know, I have to just remember I'm that character. It's kind of like Game of Thrones. Everyone hated the king or Cersei, right? And people see us as that character. They don't see me as CJ with my little nephew. They see me as the evil Lana who's being mean to their children in America. So we're going to be mean back."

On an early Joe Hendry segment:

"I remember he was better than the Americans that were trying to play it. His accent was way more believable. So we did something in America for a ceremony with American actors. I was traumatized, because I'm like, that is very bad. We need to work on your accent. I was actually really impressed by him, and I'll never forget. That's what I said to him, and he brought that up. He was like, 'You put my accent over.' I was like, 'Because I was impressed with how well you were doing.' So I thought he was very believable as our lawyer, and I was so happy to see him at WrestleMania, I couldn't believe it. It's those stories that just make me love this business and make me love life, because it's like, yeah, you had a dream, and you persevered. Chelsea Green the same way, they played these little parts on the show years ago, and then they kept going, going, going. And the see their payoff now is so beautiful."

On wrestling Nia Jax in the “My Hole” match:

"I had no idea that it was gonna become an international meme. That was nuts. I push her through the table, she goes through the table, and I believe it was Triple H and Johnny [Ace], I can't remember exactly who gave [the line] about joking about “my hole” in rehearsal, and then that's what she did. I did hurt her hole, and it became an international meme, which I'm very proud of. It's so funny. I honestly can't believe that I put her through a table and hurt her hole [laughs]."

On getting put through the announce table every week:

"I was just the biggest heel at the moment in the business because of the Bobby Lashley story. I was teaming up with Nattie, and we were heels. Vince wanted to have his new schtick for Nia that she was going to put someone through commentary every single week, and he was going to turn her into a massive babyface. So I was like, 'I want to go. I've always wanted to go through a table. It's my dream.' That was told to Vince, and Vince thought that was so hysterical that I ever dreamed of going through a table. He thought it made the most sense if they were trying to make her as a babyface, to put the person that was hated the most through the table. Because everyone, Liv wanted to go through it, a whole bunch of other girls were like, No, me, me. So she put me through [the table], and it was the same day that Miro had an AEW interview on a podcast, and it was just something with his interview and me doing that at the same time that the fans assumed I was being disciplined because of Rusev, but it wasn't that way at all. It just really worked into my favor that the fans really had my back like that. One second they hate me and like that, they turn. God, I love our fan base. You guys are the best. So then the following week, I think originally, the plan was to put another girl through the table. And Vince was like, No, I want to try again, Lana. And then by the third week, I had become a full-blown babyface online. And it was so much heat for Nia and Shayna, he was like, I think this is going to make them a bigger heel and you have bigger babyface. So let's run with it and see where it goes. So that's what happened."

On her romantic storylines:

"Yeah, it was a little awkward when I had to practice that kiss with Dolph and my, at the time, boyfriend was in the room. The whole thing was so funny, because Johnny Ace and Vince show what we need to do, and they get up real close, real super close."

To each other? 

"Yeah, showing how it needs to be done. We're giggling, and Vince is like, 'No, we're all professionals here. We're all grown adults.' So that already helped me go, okay, these grown men are very, you know, it is very professional. I come from a performance background, and I can easily pretend to be a friend, assassin, lover, mistress, and then leave work and turn it off, go back home, do chores, and do life and be together with Miro. We both understand that. He takes acting class. He's been in movies. He's been a husband in different things as well. So I think we always had that understanding. He's very confident, though, he's a man who feels totally secure and confident in me playing something that is believable, and I give him his props and flowers, because maybe for me it would be a little bit harder vice versa, but he understood that was what was bringing good money into the household."

On Liv Morgan interrupting her wedding to Bobby Lashley:

"So this, again, was a Paul Heyman story, and I thought it was great, because I thought someone was going to interrupt. I thought Liv was gonna interrupt for Bobby Lashley, and I liked the spin on it. I didn't know it was gonna be Liv Morgan. He originally said, we're thinking about maybe Ruby, Liv, Daria. All of them really made sense to me. All of them, yeah, it really connected to me. We were just told that week by week, we're gonna figure it out. And so me and Liv wanted to commit to it fully. We are very close friends. We had spent a lot of time together, and yeah, I had, throughout my life, dealt with my own sexuality. Not issues, what's the right word? I guess, not being fully straight, questioning my own sexuality throughout my life. So to me, I identified to it completely. The fans [thought] it was polarizing. Some people really loved it, and other fans didn't. And so who knows how the fans' reaction affected it, I don't know. But it leaves the door open, anything can happen. It’s wrestling, anything can happen."

What is CJ Perry grateful for?

"That I am still married to Miro, my sobriety, and that I am a WWE legend."

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