Why Summer Rae Left WWE, Explained
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Not every wrestler that walks into WWE and becomes a WWE Superstar remains a star, and for every WrestleMania main eventer, there are many more than never get that chance to shine. When looking at the company's women's division over the years, there have been a plethora of women that either sunk or swam in the company. For former WWE Diva, Summer Rae, her time in WWE was all over the place. From playing the manager, lover, and ex of Rusev, to creating the famous BFFs faction in NXT that launched the careers of Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair, Summer Rae did certainly leave a legacy behind during her several years within the company. While some may have forgotten her, others may remember her as a WWE Legend (at least WWE does), though her exit from the company in 2017 would be a much more muted one than some of her peers.
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Summer Rae Was Part Of The BFF's In NXT With Sasha Banks And Charlotte Flair
Signing with WWE's developmental system in 2011, Summer Rae would find some success in FCW, where she would eventually become the General Manager of the brand before it was rebranded into WWE NXT. Summer Rae would originally just work as the ring announcer before she would transition into a wrestler, aligning with Sasha Banks and Charlotte Flair for arguably the highlight of her wrestling career.
Known as the BFFs, this trio would not do much for Summer Rae in the long run, though it would give Flair and Banks the launching pad for their own careers, with it giving birth to Sasha's "The Boss" character and putting the spotlight on Charlotte Flair as a heel in a new way. Summer Rae would be called up to the main roster and would be a regular in the Divas division, though she would fail to ever win gold.
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On WWE's Main Roster, Summer Rae Managed Many Superstars
While Summer Rae was more than just decent inside of the squared circle, she would rack up a few injuries that would take her out of action a few times during her career. With a great personality, and a wonderful voice for a heel, WWE gave her numerous valet positions during her time with the company. Originally paired with Fandango, she would eventually break away to form an alliance with Layla, though when her partner was gone from the company, that team would end. From there, Rae would be paired with Damien Sandow during his feud with The Miz, though it would be a short-lived pairing.
Her two biggest valet spots would come later on, during the Rusev vs Dolph Ziggler feud, where she would align with Rusev as his manager and new lover, while Lana and Ziggler would face off against them. Rae and Ziggler would later align, before she would turn and then take on another managerial role, this time with Tyler Breeze. Her time as Breeeze's valet would be her last during her run in WWE.
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Summer Rae Returned To WWE At The 2022 Royal Rumble
Despite being a regular in the Divas Division for years, and a star on Total Divas, Summer Rae would walk away from WWE in late 2017. After picking up a number of injuries and finding herself unsatisfied from a creative standpoint, Summer Rae would request her release from the company and have it granted. Speaking with Renee Paquette on an episode of The Sessions, she would reveal that she also wanted to do more than just wrestling, with her wanting to focus on modeling and acting instead of wrestling for WWE, which played a part in her exit from the company as well.
To the surprise of most, Summer Rae would return to WWE in January 2022, with her being dubbed a "WWE Legend" by the company in an effort to hype her return and entrance in the Royal Rumble. She would be taken out quickly during the match and was an example of the company stretching themselves thin with surprise entrants in 2022's Rumble match for the women. Summer Rae would not wrestle or appear anytime after that one-off for WWE.
