Ex-WWE Wrestler Believes Sitting Out During Pandemic Hurt Her Career

Former WWE wrestler Mercedes Martinez was recently interviewed by DNC DIGITAL, speaking on a number of different topics relating to her professional wrestling career, with heavy focus given to her time in the world's biggest promotion.

Of particular interest are Martinez's comments on the detrimental impact that opting to sit out for a period following the COVID-19 pandemic's onset in 2020 had on her run. Mercedes said that while the global health crisis helped her mend a few things in her personal life, it was a curse on her career, costing her momentum (h/t Fightful):-

"Professionally, it was a curse. It hit me really hard. You have COVID-19 happening, no one knows anything about it and I'm asthmatic, I have allergies, if I catch it, am I going to die? My son is immunocompromised because he had 20,000 things wrong with him. I had to put my safety and health first and opt out. Me opting out really hurt my career and momentum. For seven months, you didn't see anything about Mercedes. Coming back, how do I get the momentum that I had coming out of the Royal Rumble? It's really hard."

Martinez appeared in the 2020 Royal Rumble after re-debuting with WWE as part of an NXT battle royale two weeks prior. She then wrestled one more match for NXT television before sitting out, not returning until July.

The former Mae Young classic participant then entered a storyline with the Robert Stone Brand, which she shared her thoughts on:-

"It was trying to figure out the creative, figuring out what worked, being put with the Robert Stone brand wasn't something that I wanted, but you have to be a team player. I had fun with it, but maybe that wasn't the right direction I should've gone, but you go with it because it's an opportunity and you take the best with the opportunities and you do the best you can. As the year with dwindling down, it was like, 'What is my role now?'"

Continuing, Martinez spoke on sitting out and how this hurt her WWE career:-

"The pandemic changed everyone's storylines. Those who worked got pushed. I opted out for my own reasons and it hurt my career. Do I regret it? Oh hell no. I don't regret any decisions I made because I'm safe now. I'm healthy. I really think it hindered my career a little because it stopped my momentum. Coming back at Great American Bash, it was like I was ready, but I wasn't, because we were still figuring out the creative side of stuff. I wasn't frustrated or mad. It was just, 'What is the universe trying to tell me? What is my role going forward? Am I going to be a major player or am I going to be brought in now to level up the girls to make sure they're ready for the top spot.' That's where I was going in my head, then I had the match with Rhea Ripley and I needed that to solidify what I can bring to the table."

Mercedes was one of several NXT wrestlers released by WWE on 6 August. She has since announced appearances for multiple indie promotions, as well as working IMPACT Wrestling's television tapings on 17 September, having served her 30-day non-compete clause.