De Lander advises released WWE wrestlers to seize indie control
Australian wrestler Steph De Lander, current ACW women's champion, told recently released WWE performers that departures can launch stronger careers. She posted on X: "Getting released from WWE was the best thing that happened to my career. It doesn’t have to be the end of the story!" In an interview, she urged them to process emotions before committing fully to independent wrestling.
De Lander left WWE in 2022 and rose in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where she captured the TNA Digital Media Championship and feuded with Matt Cardona and Sami Callihan. After two years sidelined by a neck injury, she returned last month at Awesome Championship Wrestling and defeated Indi Hartwell and J-Rod to claim the women's title.
De Lander emphasized wrestlers' newfound control on the independents. She noted that while pay drops and challenges mount, performers can reshape their legacies without WWE's creative limits.
She appears next for ACW on May 16 at the MJN Convention Center in Poughkeepsie, New York.
