Former WWE Women’s Star Why She Left, Retirement Thoughts

WWE recently concluded the 2023 edition of its draft to stabilize its rosters on both Raw and SmackDown but one name who did not participate in the festivities is that of Naomi.

Nearly a year since she had unceremoniously left WWE in May 2022, she confirmed via Instagram that she was no longer returning to the company in March of this year and has since gone on to sign with Impact Wrestling, debuting on April 28.

Naomi, now going by Trinity under Impact Wrestling, has revealed to SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio why she chose to turn her back on WWE and find greener pastures elsewhere.

“I chose and wanted to be at Impact. The doors are open for me everywhere, literally everywhere but I truly feel like Impact is the best choice for me at this point in my life right now with what I want to do,” she said to open up her statement.

“Ultimately, I left that day because of the way I was talked to and handled. Everything kind of just broke me that day. It had nothing to do with anything else, anybody else. That was just it. I had to.”

The day that she was referring to was May 16 where she and then-tag team partner Sasha Banks decided to walk out on the episode of Raw as the then-WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions had felt disrespected about their booking.

While the locker room was split about their emotions on how the pair handled the situation, there was still a belief among fans that WWE can find a resolution with both Naomi and Banks over the following months.

However, speculation of such a thing happening died when Banks made her debut at New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s (NJPW) Wrestle Kingdom 17 show, their equivalent to WWE’s WrestleMania spectacle.

Hope was still alive for Naomi, real name Trinity Fatu, to return though as reports emerged in early March that Naomi was dealing with a shoulder issue which she confirmed during the conversation on Busted Open Radio and even had her contemplating retirement.

“I worked with a torn labrum for over a year. I kept wrestling, I didn’t talk about it [and] I didn’t say anything because you know, you don’t want to look weak. You don’t want to look like there’s a problem, you don’t want to be taken off TV,” Naomi stated.

“I had shoulder surgery… so all of that was just a lot mentally… It was probably the scariest time of my life just being unsure of myself, my future, the first time I’ve been unemployed since I was like 16 years old. It’s made me better and want to go after this job and career even harder.”

The former SmackDown Women’s Champion appeared to be at peace with her decision to leave, but former WWE talent almost always find their way back down the road and fans can only hope that they do see her return under the pro wrestling giant’s banner.