Kaitlyn On If Her Upcoming Comeback Match Is For A WWE Return
On February 10 in Coral Springs, Florida, former WWE Divas Champion Kaitlyn (Celeste Bonin) will make her return to the ring after being away for four years. She will be appearing for Coastal Championship Wrestling to face Rachael Ellering.
Bonin worked for WWE between 2010 and 2014 after asking for her release from the company. She then focused on fitness and her clothing line. In the videos above, Bonin spoke with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald on her return to the ring and how she's feeling about it.
"I'm actually super nervous," Bonin said. "I've been on TV and wrestled at Madison Square Garden, the most famous arena in the world, but I'm nervous for this because it's a comeback, ya know? I haven't wrestled in so long."
Bonin initially started posting photos of her training in the ring on social media and talked about how initially she just wanted to get some footage of her wrestling, but the lure to have another match kept her around a bit longer. She was also asked if all of this would lead to a return to WWE.
"Initially, when I contacted him [Trainer, Pablo Marquez], we came here just for footage, it was like, 'Okay, this is a part of who I am, this is part of my history, this was my life before I started my business,'" Bonin replied. "It wasn't really 'Okay, let me get in the ring and have a match again.' ... The short term goal is to have a really great match and get a bunch of people there [at the show]. Because it's not just a match, it's more of this story of a mess of a year, and then [getting] to a point to where I feel good and come here to escape. ... I don't know what the long-term goal is, it's a possibility that I will wrestle after this. I know I'm going to keep training here [The Main Event Training Center], but there's no big long-term goal for it."
Before NXT was a developmental brand, it was a reality competition where developmental talents would get voted off each week. Back in 2010 – then as Kaitlyn – Bonin would join season three as a late replacement and go on to eventually win that season. Even more impressive, she had only been with the company a few weeks before being added to the show, but Bonin gives a lot of the credit to her Pro, Vickie Guerrero.
"I sent in my stuff, I got a tryout, I signed," Bonin said. "Once I got into Tampa, I was only there for a few weeks and then I debuted on NXT. I somehow won, but I put a lot of that on Vickie Guerrero. Because we had a 'Pro' and a 'Rookie,' and she was such a monster heel that it was incredible how much I got over as a babyface with Vickie as my Pro. So I owe a lot of that to her and we had a great time working together, too."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Jim Varsallone with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.