Debuting as a valet to Fandango, Summer Rae became one of the mainstays of the WWE Divas division in the mid-2010s. Her gorgeousness and stint on Total Divas led to huge popularity. Plus, she was liked by the WWE officials including Vince McMahon which led to the belief that she would stay around the company for years to follow.
But a severe concussion would eventually cause her departure from the WWE in 2017. Since then, she opted to stay away from the pro wrestling business for good except for some one-off occasions, here and there. Summer Rae is now the director of marketing and social engagement for Cornerstone Global Management but she is on good terms with the WWE which led to a return at Royal Rumble 2022.
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Just like the other returnees, Summer Rae also believed that her appearance was going to be a surprise one in the 30-woman Rumble match but that wasn’t the case. WWE contacted her about the prior announcement which was a shocking one. But the company wanted to get more attention using the former Total Divas’ star’s social media popularity.
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Summer Rae was concerned with her latest look before WWE return
Then while speaking Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast, Summer Rae revealed why she was concerned while making a return to the WWE after so long. She changed up her look, big-time in recent years and hence she was worried about WWE’s boss Vince McMahon probably not recognizing her as she has red hair which is different from her blonde look from back in the days.
“When they called me about Rumble and stuff, at first they were like, ‘would you be interested? Would you even consider it?’ That was like the second thing that I said, ‘Oh, I’m red-headed now.’ I guess Sasha has every hair color under the world and [Naomi], but I think I look extremely different and some people don’t even recognize me, especially on socials. John Cone was like, ‘Johnny [John Laurinaitis] and I, will bring it up to Vince,’” Summer Rae continued.
“I remember saying it in front of my sister and she was like, ‘Don’t use it as an excuse.’ ‘It’s not an excuse. I can’t just show up like this and Vince see me and be like who the hell is that?” (quotes courtesy Fightful)
WWE announcing the likes of Summer Rae and The Bella Twins for Royal Rumble 2022 in advance was criticized by the WWE Universe as this ruined the surprise element of the Rumble match but then the company garnered much-needed attention for the star-studded matchup and used it for promotion purposes throughout the build-up.
