Former NXT UK talent Jinny made a huge announcement in January when she confirmed her in-ring retirement from wrestling. The Fashionista was an original member of the NXT UK brand and earned the love and respect of many women’s wrestling fans. When NXT UK took a hiatus and the members of the brand were either released or moved to the US, Jinny’s profile on WWE.com did move to the alumni page.
Jinny sat down recently with Ring the Belle to discuss her not only her time in WWE but her love for wrestling at a young age. She also explained she didn’t have as much experience as her counterparts such as Toni Storm and Alba Fyre (Kay Lee Ray) on the NXT UK brand. Jinny goes on to explain the tough decision to retire and that her health comes first as she suffered a terrible concussion which was the reason for her ultimate decision to leave the ring.
“When I was injured, this was the longest time I had been out with any injury. During the time of being injured and having the symptoms, I was like, ‘Wow, this is taking so long for my body to heal.’ The injury that I had, it was a concussion, unfortunately, I took quite a few blows to the head, and it was the worst one I ever had. Halfway through, I was like, ‘If my body is taking this long to heal, if I get hit again, is it going to take even longer?’ I had to be smart about it. I love wrestling. I’m a wrestling fan, I always will be. It was a really hard decision because if it wasn’t for that, would I be wrestling still? Yes, but your health is wealth and as difficult as it is, and as much as I love this business and as much as I like, ‘maybe I’ll be okay,’ I had to be smart about it and make sure that I look after myself, not just for now, but in the long run as well.”
When asked if there were any plans for Jinny to move to either the US brand of NXT or the WWE main roster, she stated that her main focus when NXT UK closed was to get better. However, she did see that she was moved to the Alumni page and quickly wanted to know why.
“I did get moved to the WWE Alumni page and I messaged work and I was like what on earth is going on? And they were like ‘I’m so sorry, it’s just because you’re injured so they’ve just moved you there. But they shouldn’t of moved you there’ I was like, okay good, I hope you haven’t fired me without telling me. (laughs)”
Although Jinny stated she wouldn’t have another run in wrestling, she did say “never say never” when it comes to a retirement match. She goes over who she has had some favorite matches with including Meiko Satomura, Nina Samuels, and Toni Storm.
Jinny answers if she sees a role for her in wrestling on our TV screens outside of the ring.
“Right now, I’m just coming to terms with the retirement. I left on very good terms. They were very good to me when I said I needed to step away from the ring. Who knows what is down the road. Right now, I just retired and I need to gather my bearings. There are always opportunities and stuff like that, who knows, I might be on a TV screen in a year’s time. The world is your oyster, you just have to run with opportunities when given to you.”
Credit to Fightful for some transcriptions.
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