Former NXT Superstar, Taynara Conti recently participated in an exclusive interview with DS Shin of Ring the Belle where she discussed her time with WWE, Brazilian and Latinx representation, and more

Last month, Conti revealed she was one of the wrestler WWE released on “Black Wednesday.”

Although she was new to wrestling when she signed with the company in 2016, Conti had a background in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. However, WWE discovered her through some modeling work she had done.

“[The photographer] asked what if we do a photoshoot in [judo] kimono. Then, he was like let’s do a sexy one and I wanted to do it to piss my ex-boyfriend. When he posted the pictures on his Instagram. He was from France so he had a lot of followers, and WWE found my pictures. They were looking for Brazilian talents. They figured out that I was just not just a model, and someone contacted me.”

Earlier this year, Taynara Conti walked out on WWE. After she was let go, she revealed that she asked for her release back in February.

“I was not happy there in the last couple of months. I’m so grateful for the opportunity. I will never forget that it changed my whole life, and I will be forever grateful. But at the same point, I need to get better. I need to think about my future. I need to feel that I’m useful. I was trying to have conversations asking for opportunities. I never asked for something big. I never asked for a TakeOver. I never asked for a title shot. Because I know everything’s step by step. But I was like, ‘Oh I have been doing this for a long time.’ I think it’s time to get better. It’s time to show them more about me. I have never done a promo. I was never in a storyline. [WWE was] keep saying that I’m good, that I’ll be a star. All the feedback was always amazing. I tried to change like a hundred times. Believe me, I pitched like a hundred different gimmicks. They were like, no keep doing what you’re doing. Just keep going, the opportunity is coming. But opportunities never came.”

Although Conti was unhappy, she was still shocked when WWE called her to let he know she was fired during a pandemic.

“I was not expecting it at all. When I talked to them a couple of months ago, they told me that they are not letting me go. Not gonna lie, what a bad moment. When I got the call, I was by myself at home. And I was just crying. I just started crying, and they were like, ‘okay I’m gonna you know let you digest.’ I was feeling really bad for a couple of days, but after that I was happy. Of course, that was not the right time for me, because I was not expecting that it was in the middle of the pandemic. I don’t know much about indie or other companies. But I know I can learn, and it’s exciting. There’s no chance I’m going back to Brazil and forgetting about wrestling.”

Lastly, Conti spoke how much it meant to her to represent her country, Brazil, and the Latinx community

“I feel in my heart, that I was born to represent my country and to represent my people. I don’t know where. I don’t know how. But somehow I will represent them. I will always do my best to represent my people and my country.”

Be sure to check out the full interview with Taynara Conti for more about her time with WWE.