Former WWE star Lana planning indie return
Former WWE and AEW personality CJ Perry (Lana) is planning a return to the professional wrestling industry.
On a new episode of TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, Perry laid out some of her plans for 2026. She is now part of Inside the Ring as a regular contributor, and Perry is about to start attending stand-up comedy classes ahead of her first comedy show happening this March. Perry also stated that she will be returning to the indies as a manager.
“I will be returning back to professional wrestling and I’m going to be hitting the indie scene,” she announced. “Definitely on the mic and managing, 100 percent. And that’s also why I’m enrolling in stand-up, because I want to be so good on the mic. I want to be so sharp. I want to be so iconic. Paul Heyman is my favorite manager of all time. I’m always studying him and watching him. And yeah, I’m going to go on this journey. So I’m going to start going to wrestling events, and I’m going to start searching for the next super athlete.”
Perry said it’s to be determined whether she will be appearing as herself or going back to her Lana persona. She is also not closing the door on competing in the ring.
“My goal is not to start wrestling, but if someone has an issue with me and I need to resolve some conflict in the ring, you better believe I’m going to be ready,” she hyped.
When her husband Rusev returned to WWE in 2025, Perry signed a Legends contract with the company. She’s said the Legends deal could potentially lead to her getting involved in WWE storylines when the time is right.
Perry hosts her own podcast called Identity Crisis along with appearing on Inside the Ring. Her husband Rusev is opening up his own wrestling school in their home city of Nashville in March.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.