"I couldn't just lock myself in my bedroom"- Persia Pirotta explains why signing with WWE was scary for her

Persia Pirotta (real-life Steph De Lander) recently opened up in an interview about her WWE contract and her dilemma while being initially signed under the company.

Pirotta made her first appearance on NXT in 2021. During her time with WWE, she would be involved with Indi Hartwell, Duke Hudson, and Dexter Lumis in a storyline. In April, both her and Lumis were released from the company.

The Australian has since come out to give her first interview. Speaking to Fightful about her contract with the company, she shared how she signed with them in 2019 while still wrestling on the independent scene. She added that despite wanting to be careful in matches, she found it difficult.

"I signed my contract [with WWE] in 2019. But I was still doing the indies and all those things. So I was like in this really weird limbo of like, still wrestling back home to stay safe and stay relevant but at the same time, I was being really careful. So, like I was only wrestling people that I really trusted and I felt comfortable with...I had so much that I had to be healthy for and to look forward to but at the flip side, as I said, I couldn't just lock myself in my bedroom for two years," Pirotta said. [17:00-18:08]

You can check out the interview below:

Prior to becoming an NXT superstar, Persia Pirotta was signed under Melbourne City Wrestling and Newcastle Pro Wrestling.

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Persia Pirotta shared that she wasn't paid by WWE while in Australia

The former NXT star spoke more in-depth about her contract arrangements. Sharing that when she was first signed, she wasn't paid, but at the same time, WWE didn't withhold her from any of the matches she wrestled in, back in her home country.

"So I wasn't getting paid during that time, that would have been lovely. I mean look, I understand it they [WWE] could have been paying me for three years to sit on my a** in Australia, so I was't expecting to get paid during that time. They didn't have any say over what I was doing or wasn't doing. It was just kind of like be safe, stay in good shape. You know, be ready as soon as we need you. My contract time started as soon as I arrived in WWE." [18:43-19:10]

Since her release, Persia Pirotta has announced an upcoming appearance at XPW Wrestling's Beautiful Disaster show on the 25th of June.

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