Katana Chance recently provided insight into her departure from WWE and her current period of self-reflection concerning her career. Appearing on the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis, Chance conveyed that this is a novel phase in her adult life.
“This is the first time in my life — in my adult life — that I have really… well it’s only been like two weeks, but that I am going to really sit and think like, what do I want to do?” Chance stated. She elaborated on her continuously structured career, from collegiate gymnastics under scholarship, where NCAA rules at the time restricted earnings and sponsorships, to subsequent professional endeavors. “Like I said earlier, I did gymnastics my whole life. Back when I was in college I had a scholarship for gymnastics, and back then with NCAA, we couldn’t make money. We couldn’t get sponsorships. Like, we couldn’t do anything else.”
Chance detailed a direct progression from gymnastics to five seasons on American Ninja Warrior, followed by an eight-year tenure with WWE, all demanding commitments that allowed minimal opportunity for personal introspection. Now, without contractual obligations, she faces a breadth of possibilities.
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“So it has been so long that I’ve just had to think, like, what actually… what actually do I want to do? And it’s a hard question. I know what I’ve been passionate about, but I don’t know now that the world is open. I’m not sure what that looks like yet — which is exciting. It’s scary, but exciting,” she shared.
Regarding potential returns to either American Ninja Warrior or professional wrestling, Chance indicated openness while emphasizing a sense of uncompleted objectives in both fields.
“I know that I have more potential in both of those avenues. I know that when it comes to American Ninja Warrior… there were more things I had wanted to do or more things I feel like I was capable of,” Chance explained. “And when it comes to wrestling, I’m very grateful for my time there. And I also feel the same way — where I know that there are things that I’m capable of and there is potential that I wasn’t able to show. So, like, that’s hard to walk away from, you know what I mean?”
WWE officially released Katana Chance, alongside her tag team partner Kayden Carter, on May 2, 2025. This development was part of a wider range of talent cuts, as confirmed by Fightful Select and other wrestling news outlets. The releases also included performers such as Braun Strowman, Dakota Kai, and Shayna Baszler.
Chance and Carter are former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions and also held the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships, which they secured in August 2023. They later won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on WWE RAW in December 2023. Chance initially joined WWE in 2017, bringing a background as an NCAA gymnast and American Ninja Warrior participant.
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