Layla says her WWE developmental path could have gone very differently, and not in a good way.
While speaking to Chris Van Vliet, Layla said she actually wanted to train more early in her WWE run. She had interest in going to OVW or Deep South Wrestling, but WWE didn’t seem too eager to send her there because she was already on television.
“I wasn’t allowed to, because I wanted to go to—this is not only just me—I wanted to go to, it was OVW at the time, and I think it was at Deep South Wrestling.”
According to Layla, John Lauranitis basically told her she didn’t need developmental because she was already on television. Atlanta was still floated as an option, but that’s where things got weird fast.
“And, well, I think Johnny Ace was like, ‘Well, you know, we don’t want you going to OVW.’ And then he’s like, ‘Well, you don’t need to. You’re on TV. You don’t need to go train. We don’t need you to do that. We don’t need you to do that.’”
Layla said she could have gone down to Atlanta to train, but then she heard something that made the decision for her. She claimed she was told a Deep South Wrestling trainer had her photo as his screensaver because she was supposedly going to be his “next victim.”
“All right, so if you go, you can go down, you know, to Atlanta and train there, but even then it was very—like, no. And then the trainer at Atlanta at the time, Deep South—I was told had a screensaver of me because I was going to be his next victim. So that’s why I didn’t go down there.”
For context, Bill DeMott was the head trainer at Deep South Wrestling during that period. Layla did not name him in the interview, so that part needs to be clear. Still, DeMott’s reputation from his time as a trainer has been talked about for years due to past allegations about his conduct, which makes Layla’s story even more uncomfortable.
Bottom line, Layla wanted to get better in the ring, but that warning about Deep South Wrestling was enough to keep her away. She didn’t name the trainer, but she made it clear she believed going there could have put her in a very bad situation.
What do you think about Layla’s story from her WWE developmental days? Drop your thoughts below and leave your feedback.
Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.
