{"id":134990,"date":"2025-05-09T09:25:49","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T13:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=134990"},"modified":"2025-05-09T09:25:49","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T13:25:49","slug":"katana-chance-surprising-cut-latest-wwe-shakeup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/05\/09\/katana-chance-surprising-cut-latest-wwe-shakeup\/","title":{"rendered":"Katana Chance: A Surprising Cut in Latest WWE Shakeup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a surprising move, WWE<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/05\/03\/wwe-releases-braun-strowman-14-more-talent-full-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\"> officially released Kacy Catanzaro<\/a>, better known to wrestling fans as Katana Chance, as part of a new wave of talent cuts. The former gymnast-turned-wrestler had been a staple in the NXT women&#8217;s division. It made significant strides on the main roster alongside Kayden Carter, with whom she captured the WWE Women\u2019s Tag Team Championships.<\/p>\n<p>Her release shocked many fans and insiders, especially considering her athleticism, fan-favorite status, and unique in-ring style that blended acrobatics and high-flying offense. WWE has not provided an official reason for the release, leaving fans speculating about backstage decisions and plans for the women\u2019s division.<\/p>\n<h2>From American Ninja Warrior to the WWE Ring<\/h2>\n<p>Before stepping into the squared circle, Catanzaro gained national fame on American Ninja Warrior, where she made history as the first woman to complete the warped wall. Her background in gymnastics and obstacle course competition made her a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/04\/22\/kacy-catanzaro-makes-nxt-in-ring-debut-in-front-of-excited-florida-crowd\/\" target=\"_self\">standout in WWE\u2019s NXT brand, where she debuted in 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Though undersized compared to many of her peers, she made up for it with creativity, agility, and a genuine connection with the audience. Her pairing with Kayden Carter in NXT created one of the most exciting women\u2019s tag teams in recent years, eventually leading to championship gold in 2023.<\/p>\n<h2>Signs of Optimism and a Potential Comeback<\/h2>\n<p>Following news of her release, Catanzaro updated her social media with professional contact information and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DJXEHTlRvtg\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=1244fab0-126d-4742-997c-60dbd6d0d013\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">posted a message that hinted at new beginnings rather than a farewell<\/a>. Fans quickly picked up on the hopeful tone, with many speculating a return to sports entertainment or a revival of her athletic career, possibly in the world of stunt work, fitness coaching, or even a return to American Ninja Warrior.<\/p>\n<p>She also removed WWE branding from her social bios, reinforcing the idea that she\u2019s ready to chart a new course, but isn\u2019t closing the door on wrestling entirely.<\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s Next for Katana Chance?<\/h2>\n<p>Whether she returns to wrestling with another promotion like AEW, IMPACT, or explores a new venture outside the ring, one thing is certain\u2014Kacy Catanzaro is far from finished. With her talent, work ethic, and charisma, she\u2019s poised to thrive in whatever path she chooses next.<\/p>\n<p>For fans of Katana Chance, this is just the end of one chapter\u2014and the exciting start of another.<\/p>\n<p><b>More From LWOS Pro Wrestling<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i>Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013 Stay tuned to the\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><i>Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/i><\/a><i> for more on the Katana Chance \/ Kacy Catanzaro and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>Netflix<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>USA Network<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>The CW<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>Tubi<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>A&amp;E<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>Peacock<\/i><\/a><i>\u00a0(WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>YouTube<\/i><\/a><i>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i>WWE Speed<\/i><\/a><i>).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a surprising move, WWE officially released Kacy Catanzaro, better known to wrestling fans as Katana Chance, as part of a new wave of talent cuts. The former gymnast-turned-wrestler had been a staple in the NXT women&#8217;s division. It made significant strides on the main roster alongside Kayden Carter, with whom she captured the WWE [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5456,"featured_media":135002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3,320],"tags":[2590,2589,8741],"class_list":["post-134990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","category-wwe-women","tag-american-ninja-warrior","tag-kacy-catanzaro","tag-katana-chance"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5456"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134990"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134990\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135001,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134990\/revisions\/135001"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}