Former WWE Superstar Ruby Riott has issued a statement one day after WWE announced that she was being released from her contract.
In case you missed it, on Wednesday, June 2, WWE announced that Murphy, Braun Strowman, Lana, Aleister Black, Santana Garrett and Ruby Riott had been let go. At the time of writing, WWE has yet to provide a reason for the releases, but it is believed that they were a result of budget cuts necessitated by Covid-19 pandemic.
Riott took to Instagram to open up in the wake of her release.
“Well… here it goes,” Riott wrote. “I’ve never been good at this sort of stuff. Yesterday in a matter of minutes, my life changed very drastically. But after some tears, some panic and a full box of Oreos, I was able look back at how lucky I’ve been to accomplish what have. I never thought I’d make it to WWE. I’ve been honored to be apart of a Squad of the most incredible women I’ve ever met, I’ve gotten to see the world, share locker rooms with some of the most talented women I know, some of which I’ve made lifelong friendships with. I’ve gotten to meet fans that were just like me, introverted kids, who never quite felt like they fit in. And between the locker room and those fans, I felt like I belonged and I’m so grateful for that feeling.
Riott then looked towards the future, and signed off on a not of optimism.
“With that, I am overwhelmed by the amount of calls/texts/tweets and support that I have received from former coworkers, friends, family and fans. Thank you so much for the kind words. You’ll never know how much it helped. As for what’s next….in the beginning ‘Heidi Lovelace’ was given to me, at the end ‘Ruby Riott’ was taken away. So I don’t know what I’ll be called or where I’ll end up. But please know this is far from over. Thank you.”
NXT Superstar Dakota Kai -- who tagged with Riott on the independent scene as Team Slap Happy -- added a touching comment to her friend's post.
"You gave me a room and so much hospitality when I first moved to Orlando. I was scared and nervous but you made sure I was ok. You’re an amazing human with the kindest heart and your future is gonna be amazing," Kai wrote.
Riott (real name Dori Prange) signed for WWE in 2016 after competing on the independent scene for six years. She made her WWE television debut on the March 22 episode of NXT. Riott was called up to the main roster in 2017 and formed The Riott Squad with Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan.
Liv Morgan is now the only Riott Squad member on WWE's roster as Sarah Logan was released on April 15, 2020.