CJ Perry [Lana] Recalls Scrapped Pitch To Retire Brie Bella

CJ Perry, who is best known for her time in WWE as Lana, recently revealed a pitch to retire Hall of Famer Brie Bella that was shut down by former Chairman Vince McMahon.

April 3 2026 will mark 10 years since Perry made her in-ring debut. The former Lana was part of a 10 woman tag team match on the WrestleMania 32 kickoff show that saw her team with Emma, Summer Rae and Team B.A.D. (Naomi & Tamina) to take on the Total Divas team of Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Eva Marie, Natalya & Paige.

Looking back on the match while speaking with Ring The Belle, Perry noted that the match was pitched by Brue, along with a follow-up match that would have seen Lana retire the former Divas Champion:

“Brie actually pitched this story (for their WrestleMania 32 10-woman tag-team match). It was all Brie, I’m so thankful,” Lana stated. “She actually pitched for me to have a singles match the next night against her and to go over, and actually put her into retirement.”

Why CJ Perry Did Not Retire Brie Bella

Continuing, Perry admitted that the idea was shut down by Vince McMahon as he wanted to see Brie have a more positive last match instead of losing to a rookie in what would have been her second professional wrestling match:

“Vince wanted her to win on the high and go off as a babyface, I totally understand that and I supported that,” 

Reflecting on what could have been, Perry also stated that in hindsight she was happy that the math did not happen, as she was nowhere near ready for a match of that magnitude:

“I was really nervous. I was okay it didn’t happen, because I wasn’t ready… I was training, and I just didn’t feel like I was ready yet.”

Brie has not competed in a match since the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble. Brie’s sister Nikki Bella made her return to WWE in 2025 and has competed regularly, but there has been no indication that Brie will be joining her.

Perry last competed in May 2021 on an episode of WWE Raw. The former Lana had a brief run in AEW, but has since signed a WWE legends deal. Perry’s husband Rusev made his return to WWE on the Raw after WrestleMania 41, and has also been a regular fixture on the show.

H/t to Wrestling News.co for the use of transcriptions.

Featured image: WWE