Katana Chance Breaks Her Silence On Release From WWE, Jacob Fatu Would’ve Been Fired From WWE Five Years Ago
On May 2, WWE released Katana Chance (Kacy Catanzaro), who had been with the company since January 2018. Throughout most of her tenure, she teamed with Kayden Carter, who was also released on the same day.
Speaking on the “Lightweights” podcast, Chance discussed her WWE departure. She said,
“It’s so funny because this is the first time in my adult life that I have really, well, it’s only been two weeks, but that I’m going to sit and think, ‘What do I want to do?’ I did gymnastics my whole life. I had a scholarship for gymnastics. Back then with NCAA, we couldn’t make money or get sponsorships. We had our scholarship and I was grateful for that scholarship, I’m not going to mess it up. All I did for those four years was gymnastics in college. The second I graduated, I moved to Texas, and for the next five seasons I was on American Ninja Warrior, and every year you re-sign a contract with them, similar to any other non-compete, you’re on their show, they have your likeness, for five years, all the way up until I switched to WWE. Immediately from there, to having eight years in WWE, which I’m so grateful for, but they are similar, where my whole mind was wrestling. It has been so long that I’ve had to think, ‘What do I actually want to do?’ It’s a hard question. For me, I’ve done so many different things up until now. Growing up, I loved watching wrestling and American Ninja Warrior. Now that I’ve done both of those, am I done with that? Do I want to do more with either? Do I want to do something different? It’s really a hard question. I know what I’ve been passionate about, but now that the world is open, I’m not sure what that looks like. It’s exciting, but scary.”
When asked if she thought about doing American Ninja Warrior or working the independents in wrestling, she stated,
“Those are both very good questions. My answer to both of them is, it’s possible. Definitely possible. It’s definitely on my mind that I’m looking for. I just need to decide what my first step is going to be. I know that I have more potential in both of those avenues. I know that when it comes to American Ninja Warrior, when I did leave, it was for a good reason, but I know that there are more things I wanted to do or was capable of. When it comes to wrestling, I’m very grateful for my time there, and I also feel the same way where I know there are things that I’m capable of and there is potential I wasn’t able to show. That’s hard to walk away from. In both of those avenues, I feel that way where I know this can be explored further and I know that I have the potential to do a lot more. I just need to take the time to choose what that is going to be. I don’t know yet and that’s kinda great.”
During a recent interview with the Toronto Sun, Jacob Fatu commented on his arrival in WWE, Triple H not changing his style, and more.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On this stretch of his career: “You know what? Happy you asked that. I couldn’t have done it if it weren’t for our coworkers. Everybody who I work with in the ring. I don’t wanna sound like I just been over here running through things because it always takes two to dance and it takes two to get this thing going so, overall, thank you for bringing up the debut. I’m very excited about that actually. Like you said, it hasn’t even been a full year yet. But, it’s been crazy though. It really has. Just mind-blowing. But to be out there with my family. Especially to do it with my family, it’s a whole ‘nother look. Very happy about it but… I think we’re just now getting started though.”
On if there is pressure representing his family on WWE television: “Yeah (there’s pressure representing my family name on WWE TV). Like what Solo (Sikoa) says, Solo says it, you know, ‘You gotta pull your own weight. We’re not little no more’ so, it took a lot. It took a whole lot of people to get me here. I’m not gonna act like Jacob just got here by myself. No. It took a lot of people. We talking about behind the scenes, we talking about the legal team, we talking about T.R., man, everybody. So, for me to sit there and be a part of it now, it’s mind-blowing. I know I keep saying mind-blowing because sometimes, I mean just the WWE logo by itself. To show up to work, man, to see myself on the truck. To hear the world chanting our last name. Not my last name. Me, Solo, and The Usos, we’re all Fatu’s. It’s real cool. It really, really is.”
On Triple H telling him not to change his style of wrestling: “Like what Hunter said, ‘Hey man, just do what you been doing to get you here, and I love the way how Hunter just, you know, he reaches out. Like, ‘Hey, we ain’t here to change how you wrestle. We ain’t here to say none of that. You do what you been doing, okay? We’d rather tell you bring it down than rather us tell you to turn it up.’ So, it’s a whole ‘nother vibe over there, and I think right now, and I always say this, people say, ‘Jacob, you should have been here five years ago.’ No, no, no, no, no. Jacob wasn’t ready five years ago, okay? And I’m just gonna keep it 100. Jacob could have been fired right now, you know, if I would’ve came in. I think the timing was perfect. When The Bloodline thing stopped, it was like, ‘Damn, where we going?’ As a fan, I’m excited for it. But man, just the way how everything worked. Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, you know, then I — man, come on. Now JC’s there so, all the way around. It just works in full circle. I’m just glad to be here. I’m real happy to be a part of WWE right now.”
(h/t – Fightful)
