Is Kaitlyn Returning To WWE?

Is Kaitlyn returning to WWE?

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the 31-year-old former WWE Superstar was backstage at the company’s NXT television tapings in Orlando, Florida on June 21.

“There is talk of her returning,” Meltzer added.

Meltzer did not elaborate on this. He reported last September that WWE officials talked about bringing her back.

Prior to joining wrestling, Kaitlyn — real name Celeste Bonin — started out as a fitness model. In 2007, she won the National Physique Committee (NPC) John Sherman Classic Bodybuilding Figure and Fitness Championship and came in fifth place at the Arnold Classic in the NPC Figure Class D competition.

In July 2010, Bonin signed a developmental contract with WWE. Later that year, she competed in and won the all-female third season of NXT to earn a spot on the main roster. She won the Divas Championship in January 2013 and held the title for five months before leaving WWE in January 2014. In a goodbye message to the WWE Universe, Bonin said she planned on returning to the fitness industry, which is her passion.

On June 20, 2014, Bonin married bodybuilder PJ Braun. A few weeks later, Bonin said she considered herself retired from wrestling, and wanted to focus on her marriage and fitness clothing line, Celestial Bodiez.

Kaitlyn and Braun split in February 2017 and their divorce was finalized on September 26, 2017.

“2017 was such a pivotal year for me,” Bonin said last January in an interview with Jim Varsallone of the Miami Herald.

“I decided to leave my marriage in February of last year, so, it’s almost been a year. Then, the whole struggle of the divorce, moving, restructuring my company [Celestial Bodiez], [and] getting new employees. All of that stuff was so ugly.

“I went through a huge period of self-doubt, the biggest decision was to leave my marriage because I didn’t know — could I run my business on my own? How is my life going to be? Because I went from the limelight of WWE to being married and having a partnership with the person I married. And then the next step is to leave all of that, am I going to be able to do that on my own? Yeah, that was a huge mental struggle for me.”

Last October, Bonin went public with her personal drug addiction in hopes that she could help others.

“In October of that year, I made a post on social media about going through drug addiction and having to go through a rehab situation, and all that,” Bonin said.

“I just felt like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve gone through all these crazy things this year and it would be a shame to not share it with others, who I know are also struggling with things like that and to tell them, hey, it’s okay. Everybody goes through stuff like this.'”

Bonin said that her drug addiction worsened due to the bad parts of her marriage, and that’s when she realized change was needed to feel like herself again.

“It was during the really bad times in my marriage,” Bonin said.

“That fueled a lot of [the drug addiction], and it was just a series of events that led to, ‘Okay, I really have to change my life.’ It was the same thing too with my marriage, I just wasn’t happy, I didn’t feel like myself. I didn’t feel like my company was representative of me and the things I believe in. 2017 was the year of ripping the Band-Aid off, and starting new stuff, and being me again.”

In 2017, Bonin started to get the wrestling bug again and she resumed training at the Main Event Training Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On February 10, 2018, she wrestled her first match in over four years, beating Rachael Ellering at a Coastal Championship Wrestling event in Coral Springs, Florida.

In an interview with WSVN-TV entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet, Bonin explained her decision to return to wrestling.

“I retired pretty much four years ago and I didn’t really have any intention of going back or making any kind of comeback or even wrestling for any other promotion like TNA. I was just super focused on my business and wrestling was kind of just in my past. Then when I got in the ring I was just super rusty which was a little embarrassing but I missed it so much,” Bonin said.

“I had such a tumultuous year in 2017, I went through a divorce and a bunch of changes in my company and moving warehouses and moving where I lived. I kind of fell out of a routine and I wasn’t working out and my life was kind of upside down but when I started wrestling again I kind of felt more purpose and structure and passionate about life in general again.”

Bonin has continued training since then and on June 23, she made an unadvertised wrestling appearance for Coastal Championship Wrestling in a Triple Threat Match.

Guess who’s back… back again…@CelesteBonin pic.twitter.com/ojM0uBWIPG

— Denny Burkholder (@DennyBurkholder) June 24, 2018

Celeste Bonin (WWE’s Kaitlyn) made an unadvertised in-ring return as a third participant in the women’s title match w/Chelsea Durden & Vanilla Vargas. pic.twitter.com/22ADldOXdG

— Denny Burkholder (@DennyBurkholder) June 24, 2018

In her latest vlog, Bonin talks about the match, which includes a few wrestling clips.

Bonin then says she’s “back” and that she’ll be wrestling in Puerto Rico for the first time ever for WWL (World Wrestling League).