Serena Deeb Reveals Concession WWE Had Her Make Before Coaching
It's hard to believe that Serena Deeb went from being inactive as a wrestler for several years to now being only a few days away from challenging Mercedes Martinez for the Ring of Honor Women's World Championship at Death Before Dishonor. But those are the facts of the case — Deeb wrestled only four matches between June 2015 and September 2020, largely due to her working as a coach in WWE for two years.
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Deeb revealed that when WWE hired her, it was with the concession that her in-ring days would remain behind her so she could focus on training new stars.
"I was 30 when they hired me as a coach," Deeb said. "I had taken a couple of years off of wrestling to do yoga. My body felt great. I remember having a conversation with one of the bosses there, and he just straight-up said 'To accept this job, you need to really be at peace with being done in the ring.'
"It was a really tough moment for me, because it was such a great opportunity, and I love helping people. I still love coaching, I still love doing seminars and all of that. But the entire time I was coaching and I'm watching these girls, I was like 'I want to be in there. I'm not done.' I always felt there was unfinished business."
Deeb was ultimately one of the many released from WWE in 2020, reportedly due to budget cuts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. But even prior to that, and prior to her signing with AEW later that year, Deeb already had the desire to join the upstart promotion.
"When AEW started, I watched it from the beginning, every single week," Deeb said. "I was a huge AEW supporter, I loved what they had going on, I just loved their vibe. So here I am, coaching at WWE, but I'm watching AEW like, 'Man, I want to wrestle there. I want to wrestle there' ... The path there was always easy. Losing my job during the pandemic, which a lot of people did, those were some tough times and humbling times. But it was the best thing that could've happened because I thought my wrestling career was over.
"Then here it is. It's like a renaissance for me. September will be two years with AEW, and I've gotten to do so much amazing stuff there, and stuff with NWA. So yes, I felt that way. It was something in my gut. Every day when I would go to work, sometimes I'd sit in my car in the parking lot and just be like 'Man. Ugh. But this is my role right now. My role is to help.' So I embraced it. But I had unfinished business."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Busted Open Radio and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription