Kayden Carter felt ‘held back’ in WWE, ready to showcase her ‘Lucha Strong Style’
Lacey Lane, formerly known as Kayden Carter in WWE, is ready to show the wrestling world she has more to offer.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio on Wednesday, Lane said that starting her post-WWE career feels like “a whole new journey” and a “new start” for her. She was part of WWE roster cuts revealed on May 2, after having been with the company since 2018.
Asked about being free of her 90-day no-compete deal following her WWE departure, Lane said:
“It just feels like a relief to me because I feel like I have so much to offer, and I feel like I wasn’t able to showcase that.”
Carter said that while her WWE career was primarily as a tag wrestler along with Kacy Catanzaro (Katana Chance), she wants to show people she can be a singles wrestler as well.
“I feel like people are used to seeing me in a tag team, and I love that. I will never, ever take anything away from me being in a tag team, but I also want to remind people that I am an individual, that I did have a spark before I got to WWE. I was so much of a spitfire, and that same passion and that same drive is still there and I want to show the world that I’m very capable on my own.”
Prior to signing with WWE in 2018, Lane trained at the Team 3D Academy with The Dudley Boyz starting in 2016. She later caught on with The Crash promotion in Mexico, winning the promotion’s Women’s title in January 2018. She dropped the belt just weeks before debuting in the 2018 Mae Young Classic, where she advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by Meiko Satomura.
Lane says she wants to bring back that Lucha Strong Style she used prior to signing with WWE.
“Whether it’s Japan, AEW, Ring of Honor, NWA, I want to be able to show everyone that I’m very capable and that I can provide something that people really haven’t seen before and bring back my Lucha Strong style and stuff that really got away from me in WWE.”
Busted Open co-host, Bubba Ray, who helped train Lane, added that she always walked around with a lot of confidence, and “spitfire” is a good description for her. However, he didn’t see that from her during her WWE run.
“You always had a spark. You always had a little bit of a chip,” Bubba said to Lane. “You always walked around with a lot of confidence, even a little bit of ego, maybe. When you got to the WWE, I said to myself, what happened to this girl?”
Lane responded that she felt as though she had to go along with what WWE gave her and Catanzaro, although she says they pitched ideas.
“When I got to WWE, I feel like I was just very held back in what I was able to do. I pitched ideas, I put myself out there, I tried new things and it just felt like if that wasn’t the direction they wanted, I kind of had to go with whatever they had prepared for us.”
Asked by her former trainer what she can offer the women’s division in other companies, Lane responded:
“I’ve always felt like I provided a unique style in the ring as well. I bring Lucha Strong style, which is different from how most people function. You’re either a big man, you’re either a high flyer, but I try to like combine them and be in the middle of that.”
“It’s about just keep fighting and proving myself, because I never want to be labeled as an underdog, because I feel like I provide so much more than that. Like I said, personality, charisma, a unique style, unique in-ring presence, I just feel like I can bring it all, given the opportunity with someone just to take a chance on me.”
Lane’s full appearance on Busted Open Radio is available here.