After wrestling for 13 years Madison Rayne made her WWE debut under the moniker Ashley Rayne at the Mae Young Classic II tournament. Although she lost in the first round to Mercedes Martinez, many would wonder if the former Impact Knockouts Champion would sign with WWE but she chose to go a different route.

In a recent interview with CBS Local Sports: Pittsburgh, Rayne shared her concerns regarding signing with WWE.
ROH Was The Best Fit

“Conversations between WWE and myself were always positive,” Rayne said. “I always got great feedback on everything I did, from the tryout a year ago to just recently doing Mae Young. This past year has been the first and only time that I’ve ever worked in any capacity with WWE. So, that was really exciting this many years into my career, to finally have been able to do that.”

Rayne would continue to say that ROH’s proximity to her hometown of Columbus factored into where she signed this year, however.

“It’s about trying to figure out what was going to be best for me and which company I would flourish the best in. I felt that Ring of Honor was my best option, and that is not saying that WWE offered me something and I said no, I just feel like I was always very honest and upfront about the fact that Columbus was my home and Columbus would remain my home. I understand that they have a system that they put their talent through, regardless of whether you’ve never taken one bump, or you’ve been wrestling for many years, and that system starts in Orlando. While wrestling is still very, very important to me, being a mother and being a wife, those two things are greatly more important.”

Madison told WWE she was not willing to relocate.

“There was never that definitive conversation, but just given the fact that I knew and I never wanted there to be any gray area in my communication with WWE, and I made it clear that I could and would not be willing to relocate, I think that probably kind of settled the question there as far as whether or not a contract with WWE was going to be in my future.”

Another question that was asked was who were some opponents Rayne would like to face in the not so distant future.

“I’ve made my little dream list. The one that people talk about a lot, probably for varying reasons, would be me and Alexa Bliss. We’re both from Columbus, we’re both small, we both tend to have a bit of attitude when it comes to our in-ring persona.”

Rayne says she’s had the chance to meet Bliss as well.

“I’ve met her several times, I knew her years ago when we both competed in fitness competitions. So, I just think that it would be fun for that to come full circle and for us to meet in the ring. I would love, and I hope that not far down the road it comes to fruition.”

Rayne also listed Tenille Dashwood as an opponent she would like to face some day.

“I would also love to get in the ring one-on-one with Tenille [Dashwood]. I’ve not had that opportunity yet, so I’m really looking forward to that.”

The article also lists five other wrestlers Rayne would love to step in the ring with:

  1. Sasha Banks
  2. Peyton Royce
  3. Carmella
  4. Bianca Belair
  5. Naomi