On Wednesday night, former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro announced she was making her return to the squared circle. In a statement on her Twitter account, Massaro revealed she would begin training next week with New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC), one of the top indie promotions in the New York City area.
Gonna be bumping around the ring starting next week at @NYWCWRESTLING 🤔 😜 super pumped n ready to see what I got left in these ole boots of mine! Those guy are the best super safe and make me feel so comfortable-if u live in tri state area n want to train-THIS IS WHERE ITS AT!
— ☆ Ashley Massaro ☆ (@ashleymassaro11) March 21, 2019
The 39-year old Long Island native would be making her foray back into professional wrestling after leaving the WWE back in 2008. A former swimsuit model, Ashley Massaro debuted with the WWE in 2005 as the winner of the 2005 Divas Search competition. Coming from a modelling career instead of a wrestling background, at the time it was decisions like this that began the fan backlash to WWE choosing models over wrestlers for the women’s division, which ultimately became the Divas division, with the Divas Championship being created the same year that Massaro departed the company.
During her four years with the WWE, Ashley was involved in many feuds, with the likes of Victoria, Melina, Torrie Wilson, Jillian Hall, and others, and was occasional tag partners to the likes of Trish Stratus and Mickie James. In 2007, she competed as part of CBS’ Survivor: China while with the WWE and was also one of several WWE Superstars to appear in Playboy while under WWE’s employment. She was granted her release from the WWE in 2008 to attend to her sick daughter.
Since her retirement from pro wrestling, she’s made occasional appearances at indie events and wrestling conventions, but usually in a minimal capacity as a valet. Whether this return training with NYWC is for a prolonged indie run (or farewell tour like former rival Victoria) or for a potential one-off during WrestleMania week in her home area, is yet to be revealed.
