Ex-WWE Wrestler Says "Nobody Wants Me Because I Was Raised In NXT"
This released WWE wrestler believes they are struggling for work due to their NXT history...
Former NXT wrestler Marina Shafir believes that her history in WWE's developmental brand is working against her as a freelancer.
Speaking on Shot of Wrestling, Shafir stated that while she didn't necessarily consider her Performance Center education a bad thing, that the bulk of her experience comes from NXT, not on the independent scene, has left her struggling for bookings (h/t Fightful):-
"I trained with Mercedes Martinez like six weeks back and it was hilarious because we were talking about, 'What you do and how you do it matters.' She goes, 'You're NXT bred.' Nobody wants me because I was raised in NXT. I don't have Indie experience and I don't speak that language. I speak TV language. I speak 'what do the producers want?' language. Not that it's a bad thing. Being part of that process matters how vulnerable you can be towards people. It matters because that is what will make a story really good. It's about what you want to be vulnerable about and how vulnerable you want to be."
Shafir continued, explicitly stating that "nobody f*cking wants me":-
"Coming from NXT, I still get the side-eye. Nobody wants me. Nobody wants the shooter from NXT who has a chip on her shoulder. Nobody f*cking wants me."
Marina has been a free agent since 25 June, when she was released by WWE alongside a host of other NXT and 205 Live wrestlers. She had been in the company's system since May 2018, when she was signed alongside Jessamyn Duke, and while the duo were initially paired up alongside fellow MMA 'Horsewoman' Shayna Baszler, this alliance ended prior to Shayna being moved to the main roster.
Shafir has worked five matches since leaving WWE, including GCW Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 7 on 22 October and AEW's latest set of Dark tapings on 3 December.
Continuing, the 33-year-old said that she wants to keep going in wrestling - and eventually convince the people who don't want to work with her that "they need to":-
"I'm trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get to be in a ring and get those reps and understand and experience. My whole last year in NXT, I never wrestled in front of a crowd maybe more than once. People don't understand that I still want to do this and those are my experiences. I want to understand how to be in front of a crowd and understand what they want and then understand how to not give it to them. I'm a sponge right now. I look at my son and he wants to learn everything. That's how I look at myself. If NXT and WWE taught me anything, it's that I've learned so much about myself and who I am as a performer. I'm a challenge, I'm a problem, people don't want to work with that. I hope that they eventually learn that they need to."
Shafir's sole match on the Dark tapings aired last night. Check it out below.