Celeste Bonin (Kaitlyn) Interview: What She’s Been Up To, Talks About A Women’s Wrestling ‘Renaissance’, Is She Done Wrestling?

Former WWE Diva Celeste Bonin, akaKaitlyn, recently did an interview with the Baltimore Sun to promote an upcoming appearance at Maryland Championship Wrestling’s Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup 14 this weekend.

Bonin commented on a number of topics, including what’s she has been doing since leaving WWE, whether she is done with in-ring competition, and if she thinks there is a women’s wrestling renaissance going in today. You can read a few excerpts below:

Bonin on her recent activities:

When I retired, it was a bit of a last-minute decision. I had been thinking about it for a while because there was a lot of things happening in my life and it was a transitional time for me. I had just gotten engaged, and I wanted to plan my wedding. I also had this project on the backburner, with this business site, that I wanted to wait to start until I retired from WWE. When I made the decision, rather quickly, to leave the WWE, I went full throttle into making my business work, while also planning a wedding. So it’s been pretty hectic.

Bonin on her in-ring career:

I mean, I love meeting my fans, and I love doing stuff like this. But right now, it’s such a hectic time for me. I just launched my business a few weeks ago, I just got married and we haven’t even had time to take a honeymoon yet. There’s so many things I want to focus on. Traveling and doing these appearances are really hard at this point. At this time, this is the last appearance I have scheduled, so this is very meaningful to me. I won’t say that I’ll never do another one again, but for right now, this is the last one for probably a long time.

Bonin on women’s wrestling culture today, and if we are seeing a revival of sorts:

Absolutely we could be. The talent is definitely there. There’s a lot of things that affect what happens on TV. It’s talent and it’s timing and storyline ideas. It’s also up to each individual woman there to make it happen for themselves. Nothing really happens for you or by chance. You really have to have a really driven and positive attitude. You have to be willing to do whatever, even if it’s not your time to shine. If it means helping another diva get her chance, you need to do it, it’s all about your attitude. There’s definitely talent there, and the right girls are there, and if they get the opportunity, the stars could align and we could see another great era happen again.

Kaitlyn Talks Retirement, Recent Emphasis on Divas Division and More

Former Diva Kaitlyn recently spoke to Aaron Oster of The Baltimore Sun in order to promote her appearance at the upcoming Shane Shamrock Memorial Cup 14 put on by Maryland Championship Wrestling. The event will take place on Saturday, July 19 at  Joppa Market Place in Joppa, Md.

Kaitlyn spoke about her retirement from WWE and her life since it:

“When I retired, it was a bit of a last-minute decision. I had been thinking about it for a while because there was a lot of things happening in my life and it was a transitional time for me. I had just gotten engaged, and I wanted to plan my wedding. I also had this project on the backburner, with this business site, that I wanted to wait to start until I retired from WWE. When I made the decision, rather quickly, to leave the WWE, I went full throttle into making my business work, while also planning a wedding. So it’s been pretty hectic.”

With three Divas storylines ongoing in WWE, Kaitlyn was asked if she would have stuck around had she known there would be a new emphasis on the division:

“That’s a really hard question. I might have stayed a little bit longer, possibly. I just reached the point where I had done a lot of cool stuff in the WWE and traveled the world and I had the title, and I think I did some really great stuff. It wasn’t a super-hard decision to step back and leave. I can’t really go back and say I would’ve stayed longer. But it’s possible. I guess it depends on what was going on at the time, especially if there were more opportunities for more storylines like there are now. But I guess what I’m saying is that I don’t regret leaving, because I love my life. I love everything that I have going on right now. 

It does make me happy to see all the girls really getting a chance to show their talent and abilities and personalities. It makes me proud to see that they’re getting a good opportunity.”

Additoinally, Kaitlyn was inquired about how long her retirement will last. Oster asked Kaitlyn if we would ever see her in the ring again:

“I don’t think I will ever wrestle again, but if I do, it would be for WWE. I just feel like that’s my place. It’s where I developed my wrestling abilities and character and that’s where I would stay if I was to wrestle again. The good thing about when I left is that I left on very good terms with the WWE. It left the door open for me if I ever wanted to come back. It’s not completely out of the question to ever return, whether it’s for a short-term or longer. Maybe there will be a point down the line that I miss wrestling bad enough that I’ll want to come back. As for now though, I’m just focusing on my company and my marriage and haven’t gotten that itch to wrestle.”

Kaitlyn also speaks on if she still watches WWE, the Divas in waiting at NXT, and many other topics. Check out the entire interview, here.

Kaitlyn Speaks On The Decision To Leave WWE, If She'll Ever Return & More

The following are highlights of a new Baltimore Sun interview with former WWE Diva Kaitlyn:

Life since leaving WWE: "When I retired, it was a bit of a last-minute decision. I had been thinking about it for a while because there was a lot of things happening in my life and it was a transitional time for me. I had just gotten engaged, and I wanted to plan my wedding. I also had this project on the backburner, with this business site, that I wanted to wait to start until I retired from WWE. When I made the decision, rather quickly, to leave the WWE, I went full throttle into making my business work, while also planning a wedding. So it's been pretty hectic."

Does she watch WWE still? "Not regularly. I still do sometimes because I have friends there that I'm close with. I do enjoy it, I love wrestling. I'm not really focused in, or watch it every week. Maybe I will have a chance to get back into it, but I have so much going on. I will watch it occasionally though to watch my friends and those I've been friends with for a long time."

Would she have stayed if WWE was focusing on Divas like they are now? "That's a really hard question. I might have stayed a little bit longer, possibly. I just reached the point where I had done a lot of cool stuff in the WWE and traveled the world and I had the title, and I think I did some really great stuff. It wasn't a super-hard decision to step back and leave. I can't really go back and say I would've stayed longer. But it's possible. I guess it depends on what was going on at the time, especially if there were more opportunities for more storylines like there are now. But I guess what I'm saying is that I don't regret leaving, because I love my life. I love everything that I have going on right now.

It does make me happy to see all the girls really getting a chance to show their talent and abilities and personalities. It makes me proud to see that they're getting a good opportunity."

Her future: "Right now I'm really focusing on Celestial Bodiez, my new company and clothing line. It takes a lot to start from the ground up. I'm really focusing on that and continuing to steadily grow. Maybe I'll do some more appearances in the future for wrestling and who knows from there."

Will she wrestle again? "I don't think I will ever wrestle again, but if I do, it would be for WWE. I just feel like that's my place. It's where I developed my wrestling abilities and character and that's where I would stay if I was to wrestle again. The good thing about when I left is that I left on very good terms with the WWE. It left the door open for me if I ever wanted to come back. It's not completely out of the question to ever return, whether it's for a short-term or longer. Maybe there will be a point down the line that I miss wrestling bad enough that I'll want to come back. As for now though, I'm just focusing on my company and my marriage and haven't gotten that itch to wrestle."