Kaitlyn’s 2018 WWE return almost got hung up over something as simple as her name.
Celeste Bonin revealed that when WWE reached out about bringing her back for the Mae Young Classic, she had one major issue with the comeback: she didn’t want to wrestle as “Kaitlyn” anymore.
Bonin had been away from WWE for nearly four years when former Senior Director of Talent Development Canyon Ceman contacted her about competing in the tournament. By that point, she no longer felt any real connection to the Kaitlyn character and wanted to return under her real name instead.
“Essentially, I didn’t want to go back as Kaitlyn. I hated the name, Kaitlyn. It’s not that I hated it, it just didn’t resonate. I’m like, ‘Who is that?’”
The issue got even stranger because Bonin was running her Celestial Bodiez business at the time. According to Bonin, Ceman came back to her after speaking with Triple H and told her that Hunter believed she wanted to use her real name because it would help promote the company.
“At the time, I had Celestial Bodies, and I had this conversation with Canyon, and he came back to me, and he’s like, ‘Hunter thinks that you just want to wrestle under your name because it’s going to build your business’ I’m like, even if that was the case. But it was over a weird name thing.”
Bonin made it clear that the problem was less about business and more about identity. After years away from WWE, the Kaitlyn name simply didn’t feel like her anymore. She also admitted that if she had been desperate to secure another WWE deal, she probably would have just accepted the name and moved on.
“If I was like, ‘Oh, I really want a contract, I think I would have been fine going back.’”
Despite the disagreement, Bonin did return for the 2018 Mae Young Classic and walked away happy she went through with it. She got to experience the WWE Performance Center and eventually faced Mia Yim, a match she still views as one of the best possible ways to close that chapter of her career. Bonin said she had already known of Yim because Yim supported her Celestial Bodiez brand online, and the two ended up clicking once they finally got into the ring together.
“Mia Yim is dope. I had never met her in person, but she was a big supporter of Celestial Bodiez, and she was posting my stuff and tagging me. I thought she had a cool style, and we had a great match.”
Bonin was so happy with the match that she felt comfortable with it being her final WWE appearance if things ended there.
“We had such a good match. I tapped out, and I was so proud of it, and I loved it. I was like if I never wrestle again for WWE, this is such a good match. I would be happy if this is my last match.”
The night became even more memorable when Triple H came out after the match and offered Mia Yim a WWE contract in front of the crowd. Bonin said she was genuinely happy for Yim, especially knowing how long she had worked without a WWE deal.
“Hunter comes out, and this was a shoot. He announced it. He gave her a contract that night. That’s when she got her contract, and I was like this is so dope! I wanted that for her.”
Then Bonin revealed WWE offered her a contract too. She ultimately didn’t return for another full-time WWE run, but the bigger takeaway is that her comeback nearly became complicated before it even started because she no longer identified with the Kaitlyn name WWE had built around her.
For Bonin, the 2018 Mae Young Classic became less about reviving an old character and more about finding closure on her own terms. She got back in a WWE ring, had a match she was proud of, and even received another contract offer, all while making it clear that “Kaitlyn” no longer felt like the person she wanted to be.
Do you think WWE should have let her return as Celeste Bonin instead of Kaitlyn, or was the established WWE name too valuable to drop? Leave your feedback in the comments and let us know what you think.
