It has been about eight months since Kylie Rae canceled all of her indie bookings and deactivated her Twitter account. It was of the few dark clouds hanging over pro wrestling following AEW’s Double or Nothing.

Over the weekend, “Smiley” Kylie surprised everyone when she returned to the world of memes and 280-character limits. It’s the latest positive sign in her resurgence as one of the biggest independent wrestling stars in the world.

In September, Tony Kahn confirmed that the Chicago native requested her release from AEW, which they granted her. This news left many to assume she was done with professional wrestling. What Dave Meltzer originally surmised as an undisclosed injury ballooned into what looked like an early retirement.

Although it’s still unclear why she left AEW, Rae affirmed it was for personal reasons and no one caused it. Nevertheless, her exit disappointed some fans and raised several questions. After all, she appeared to be one of the company’s biggest female signees, following a breakout year in 2018.

Three weeks after Kahn’s revelation, Freelance Wrestling announced that Kylie Rae would replace Shotzi Blackheart at Game of the Genders. In the following month, she received an emphatic welcome from her hometown crowd at IMPACT’s All Glory and Bound for Glory the next day.

It seemed like it happened in the blink of an eye. Just as fans commiserated over how much potential she had, Kylie Rae was back.

Since, Rae has seemingly picked up where she left off, securing big wins at RISE La Escalera and War is Inevitable. At the latter, she defeated Ethan Page in a Two Out Of Three Falls match to become the second two-time Freelance World Champion.

It doesn’t look like Kylie plans to slow down anytime soon. She is already having a phenomenal year. In January, Rae challenged the notable fan favorite, WARHORSE, for the Independent Wrestling Championship. Then, she won Sabotage Wrestling’s vacant War of the Genders title.

Last month, she returned to Black Label Pro to beat AJ Gray for the BLP Midwest Championship at Quantum Leap. With three titles in tow, she has her eyes on another as she will challenge Big Swole for the Rise of Phoenix Championship at Legendary.

In June, she will take on Cassandro el Exótico at Pride & Joy. Rae wasn’t on the card the first time RISE hosted a show on the day of the Chicago Pride Parade. Now that Freelance is collaborating with them, it’s only right that she would appear at the event. She has been a fixture at both promotions since she returned.

Needless to say, it has been quite the comeback tour so far. As the rumors die down, Kylie Rae continues to reminds everyone why she was someone to keep in eye on in 2019. It’s hard to tell if she plans to sign with a major promotion again but it has been amazing to watch her make such a big impact as an indie wrestler again.

What do you think? Drop a comment below and let us know where you would like to see Kylie Rae appear next.