During a recent appearance on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast, WWE Women’s Champion Naomi reflected on how her 2022 decision to walk out of WWE ultimately reignited her passion for wrestling and strengthened her personally and professionally.

Naomi admitted that stepping away was one of the first times in her adult life she was able to pause and fully reassess her goals. At first, she struggled to process the situation and even believed her wrestling career was over. At the time, her husband Jimmy Uso was deeply involved in The Bloodline storyline, leaving her to face much of the emotional and mental challenges on her own.

“I think when the walkout and all of that happened, I think that was the first time honestly, in my adult life, where I had the chance to stop, rethink, redefine, and figure out what I really wanted next, how I wanted my life to move forward from this. And I really, in the beginning, struggled trying to process that. I thought I didn’t want to wrestle anymore. I thought I was done. [Jimmy Uso] was also in a different point in his career. He was in the thick of Bloodline life.”

“He did such a great job, but also, I had to go through a lot emotionally and mentally on my own because he had his own stuff going on. And that was the first time where I just had to do the work on myself. And it was, I think it was great. It made me stronger. It relit a fire in me. I became a lot more confident in myself because I didn’t have him to reassure me on things about work. And I just thought I grew so much through that and through that time period when I was gone. So when I came back, I was ready. I was refreshed. And I was intentional on what I wanted this time to be like. And I just, I focused, I locked in, and I worked hard on it. And it paid off.”

Naomi credited the break for giving her clarity and a renewed determination, ensuring that when she returned to WWE, she did so with purpose and focus.