Anya Zova felt that she was safe during this transitional period because she didn’t drink, do drugs, or sleep around, and had been a lifelong athlete who worked hard. Since she sustained a broken arm during her time there, she was under the impression that talent would not be released during injuries. 

However, that wasn’t the case for the star who has since appeared in shows such as “Brooklyn 99” and “MacGyver.”

“I think I was the first one who got released while being injured,” she said. “They knew because [the doctors] put a plate in my arm. With a plate, it’s kind of dangerous to wrestle because it was going from the elbow all the way up. The skin is very thin, so anything could happen. They knew that I might need additional surgery later on and that’s exactly what happened. A year after, I had a second surgery to take it out, so they knew it was going to be … at least a year and a half recovery, so it makes sense financially.”

The most important lesson that Zova took away from this experience was to always read a contract before signing it. She was already at a disadvantage because she barely spoke English at the time and the language was fairly complex even for a native speaker, but the lesson was learned nonetheless. 

Now she’s thriving in the comedy scene and occasionally performs alongside other performers with a background in wrestling such as AEW’s Ryan Nemeth and WWE’s Dolph Ziggler.