Capri was with WWE for nearly a year.
Kaylia Capri, real name Alexis Gray, was recruited to the WWE Performance Center. She was a track and field athlete at Texas Southern University.
Her time with the promotion came to an end in September 2023 when she was released. Since becoming a free agent, Capri is making her way around the independent scene. In September, she participated in Reality of Wrestling’s Sherri Martel Classic.
Looking back on her time with WWE, Capri told Wrestling Republic that she had a three-year deal with the company. She stated that she was only there for nine months before being let go.
Being there (at WWE), I got to connect with coach (Norman) Smiley, connect with coach (Robbie) Brookside, coach Girard (Oney Lorcan) was my first coach. Coach (Steve) Corino was amazing, Ryan Katz. Meeting all these people, them giving me all these tips and tricks to the wrestling industry and slowly, very, very slowly, it was coming together. Me learning how to do promos and speak my mind and do things and just actually resonate with people. It was slowly coming together. Sadly, I didn’t get as much time as everyone else. I got nine months out of my three-year contract so, when I did leave, the response was absolutely crazy. It was like everybody was so upset and I was proud of that because I didn’t do anything for them to be upset. I wasn’t on TV — I was on TV for my class and a couple promos but, I really didn’t show anybody anything other than my outfits and my hairstyles and my personality on Instagram. So the fact that they just had that little and they were willing to ride or die for me, immediately, I instantly said, ‘This is something that I need to look into. I can’t stop, I can’t stop. Too many people right now are actually supporting me and really want me to do good. I can’t stop right now…’
The conversation shifted over to WWE’s new indie wrestling development program. There have been a handful of talents that have been stamped as WWE ID prospects.
Capri shared her thoughts about the program and feels her chances of making it back to the company are greater now that she’s carving her own path as an independent talent. She added that if people see her become a WWE ID prospect, it’s all a part of God’s plan.
That’s what I’m saying (my time on the indies is helping me progress further than just coming into wrestling as a collegiate athlete). That’s literally what I’m saying. It’s just crazy to me how things — without you trying — without you having to do anything, things are always gonna work out how they’re supposed to work out and I feel like I have a greater chance, just like you said, at actually establishing myself in the company now that I’m an indie athlete, than when I was a college athlete, and I think it’s so much of a great opportunity. It’s so crazy to think, wow, I’m just gonna keep coming back to this company always, in different ways. My mindset wasn’t even let’s get back to WWE. That is the big goal of course, but my big goal was to first create somebody that people like. That’s all my mentality was. That’s why I ended up with ACW, that’s why I ended up with W.O.W., that’s why I ended up with Reality of Wrestling because I wanted to put myself in places that I feel like would help me grow into somebody that everybody would care for, and when I saw the tweet that said, ‘WWE has just started this new WWE ID and Reality of Wrestling is one of the schools,’ I was just like, I just spoke to Booker. I just talked to Booker. The same way I talk to y’all is how I talk to Booker T. I let him know what I wanna do, how I wanna do it and would I do it for real? And he is all on board because he sees how serious I am and he knows that I want to be established in professional wrestling period just like he is. So, to have that conversation and then leave that conversation thinking, that’s perfect. Me and Booker understand. Not thinking anything was gonna come out of it. To wake up and see that, I was like, is this fate? Is this fate telling it’s time to go back? Is this something telling me your opportunity is coming? Be prepared, be ready, be ready to fight. It’s so crazy for me when I wake up and see things like that and realize how much possibilities and opportunities that I have and that’s why I act the way I act. I want people to understand that the opportunities that I get, I am only making for myself because I’m taking the chances and I want them to follow me in that… Take a chance (on) something that you have no idea about and see where it goes. See where it goes. As long as you being a good person and you putting great energy out into the world, you working extremely hard and you keeping that faith and you understanding that life is a fight and you ready to fight, you embracing that fight, the way the Lord work, that’s why we got WWE ID and if y’all see me signing a contract for the ID, just know, it was God’s plan.
To read more information about the WWE ID program, head over to this link for additional reporting on the subject from John Pollock and Brandon Thurston.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Wrestling Republic with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
