Cathy Kelley Explains Why She Was 'Grateful' For Initial WWE Departure

Cathy Kelley returned to WWE in October 2022, becoming a backstage interviewer on "WWE Raw" every Monday night. During an appearance on the "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" podcast, Kelley spoke about her initial departure from WWE in 2020, which came at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"While I was really upset at the time over what was going on, just in the world, and then as far as a halt in my career, I really do feel like now I'm grateful for that pause," Kelly said. "Because I was going a hundred miles an hour. I was trying to prove myself. So I was doing any opportunity that I could at WWE. I really burned myself out at that point when I was leaving. I just had to sit. 

"I just had to sit; I had to learn other skills. I taught myself how to write, so I ended up writing a horror screenplay. I ended up writing a pilot with another friend and working on other projects that hopefully will come to fruition one day. Hopefully, the world will get to see, but I worked on a lot of different skills. And then I worked on my mental health because it was really not in a good place when I left."

Kelley, who initially joined WWE in 2016 as a correspondent and host, recently said that she initially walked away from the organization to pursue other opportunities. The former AfterBuzz TV panelist felt as though she could have gone after those openings while working for the Stamford, Connecticut-based promotion but felt, at the time, that she needed to step away from the company.

If you use any quotes in this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.