During a recent appearance on the Developmentally Speaking podcast, former WWE developmental talent Anya Zova reflected on her time in WWE. Zova criticized the developmental wing of WWE for its toxic and political nature.
Zova signed a developmental deal with WWE in August 2012 and was fired a year later after suffering a broken arm during training.
Zova sued WWE in 2017 on grounds of the company’s failure to train its talent properly. The lawsuit was later dismissed.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
Anya Zova on her time in WWE: “Honestly, anytime you hear that there’s a coach wants to talk to you, you know either you’re in trouble or what’s gonna happen? And if you see a call coming in from Canyon [Ceman] on your phone, you’re like, ‘Oh, am I getting fired?’ I agree with you [podcast host Bryan Asbury] and there are so many guys that didn’t get the chance that you said they deserve, just because there’s such a limited — I think now it’s more time on TV, right? There’s the ‘NXT’ division, stuff like that, but it’s still limited. Only now, after living in the States for, like, 10 years, I understand the politics, and I suck at it still. But there’s so much politics in WWE. You just have to be this type of a person who understands the politics … you just have to be good. Like, you have to be professional, perform, and deliver.”
On how you have to be good at politics to make it in WWE: “And in WWE, besides being good and know what you do, you need to be good at politics, and for me, that was the hardest part. I’ve seen so many guys struggling with it as well. You have to be smart with who you’re friends with. You have to be smart how you talk to your coaches. It’s, yeah, it’s a lot.”
On WWE having a toxic environment: “Honestly, I’ve seen guys just get in trouble because they were heading out with the wrong person. I never understood why it’s wrong, like, just because somebody doesn’t like this person it doesn’t mean he’s bad. You know, just let me make my own judgment. I don’t know how it is now. I hope it changed, but back then it was a little bit of toxic, I have to say.”
