Female WWE star who was released after an injury, speaks out against company; says it made women develop eating disorders

WWE has not always been the most progressive place in the world, though the company has made changes in how the company treats women recently. However, even in the last decade, there have been issues raised multiple times. Now, Anya Zova, a former WWE developmental star who had filed a lawsuit against the company, has opened up about her experience.

Zova signed a contract with WWE as a developmental star in August 2012. She was released a year later after breaking her arm while she was training. She would wait a few years and file a lawsuit against WWE in 2017 where she said that they didn't train their superstars properly.

Now, Zova has opened up on the Developmentally Speaking podcast, speaking on the training regime that was present at the time. She said that it was like the military with stars not allowed to have a life outside there. This was before Triple H changed the entire NXT system with top veterans helping to train stars.

She said that it was so bad that women often developed eating disorders because the focus to maintain a certain weight was so strong.

“Looking back, I was just like, ‘Wow that was so intense,’ and I have so much respect for all the wrestlers. I’ve never been in the military, but this is how I think the military looks. You don’t have your life outside of that, it’s basically at the gym from Monday eight in the morning you’re ready to train. Monday is also weigh-in, make sure you’re in a weight category, like wherever you know you have to stay skinny and lean. That actually drove a lot of people nuts and some girls had eating disorders because of that.” (h/t Ringside News)

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Anya Zova shared her experience in being released from WWE while she was injured

Zova explained how she was confused by WWE's decision to fire her. She was settling down in Orlando at the time.

"I think I was the first one who got released while being injured. They knew because [the doctors] put a plate in my arm. With a plate, it's kind of dangerous to wrestle because it was going from the elbow all the way up. The skin is very thin, so anything could happen. They knew that I might need additional surgery later on, and that's exactly what happened. A year after, I had a second surgery to take it out, so they knew it was going to be (...) at least a year and a half recovery, so it makes sense financially," said Anya Zova.

She said that because she was going to be out for a while, those in charge of WWE developmental at the time, probably released her.