Kelly Kelly’s career would be cited as one of the biggest examples of how WWE’s grueling schedule makes a negative impact on a professional wrestler. With Vince McMahon in charge, WWE could constantly run house shows, weekly programming, and premium live events, not offering a minimum rest period for talent. As such, injuries were frequent, with gruesome ones even causing retirement.
While speaking at the Wrestling Classic, Kelly Kelly looked back on her journey and explained how WWE’s schedule affected her body and forced her to free herself from the demanding physical sport. As such, she decided to leave pro wrestling on her own terms, which is something not everyone gets to do. The popular female superstar was feeling exhausted at times while doing house shows, at the peak of her career, and her body was hurting.
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Kelly Kelly was exhausted with WWE’s demanding schedule
Kelly Kelly then realized that her heart wasn’t fully agreeing on delivering the best in the ring, and it was reflected in her performances and in-ring character. As a performer, she didn’t want to disappoint the audience who deserved the best. Feeling that she couldn’t operate at her 100% best, she headed for a permanent break to figure out the next chapter in her life.
“I was very lucky. I was doing some house shows and I was just so tired. My body was hurting, and I felt like when your heart isn’t in it 100%, it shows in your matches. It shows in your character. It’s just hard to really give 100% when you’re not feeling it,” Kelly Kelly elaborated.
“I didn’t want to go out there and have a s***** match, you know? I want to give the crowd what they paid to see. And yeah, I just thought, ‘Okay, I need a break. I need to get it together, figure out what I want to do next, where my heart is.’” (quotes courtesy Ringside News)
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Starting with the WWE under the ECW brand in 2006, Kelly Kelly began participating in more wrestling matches a year later. After unsuccessfully challenging for both the WWE Divas Championship and the WWE Women’s Championship on multiple occasions, she finally picked up the title for one time in 2011.
In 2012, Kelly Kelly declared her retirement from WWE in-ring competition, but she has since returned for occasional appearances and matches. She competed in the 2018, 2022, and 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble match and also captured the 24/7 Championship during a special guest spot on the Raw Reunion episode in July 2019.