Melina departed from WWE in 2011 after joining the company back in 2004. She didn’t make an appearance until the Raw Reunion episode that took place on 22 July this year.
This was her first appearance in nearly eight years, and she was in a backstage segment with Candice Michelle, Naomi, and Kelly Kelly. During the segment as Michelle attacked Kelly for the 24/7 Championship, she was revealed as a special guest referee.
The former WWE Women’s Champion spoke about her appearance on the episode and said that she gained closure from her return and described it as “therapeutic”, in an interview with Post Wrestling.
Melina said that she needed to say her goodbyes and open up to people she worked with. She felt they were previously too scared to say what they felt.
“Oh my, it was therapeutic. I needed that, because I needed closure, I needed closure, I needed to say goodbye to the people I needed to say goodbye to. I needed to talk to the people who we never said goodbye but we never said our feelings. So it’s like some of the girls I worked with, I told them how I felt and the funny thing is they started telling me how they felt. You know, I always thought I was an oddball but we all thought we were oddballs and we kind of were never too scared to open up to each other so it was very therapeutic and now I have my sisters, and now I’m there for them that much more after being out of there, so it was beautiful.”
You can watch Melina’s appearance on the Raw Reunion episode in the video below:
Reflecting Back On Her Wrestling Career
Melina also reflected back on her journey through wrestling in a post on Instagram. Melina revealed that she started wrestling at Empire Wrestling Federation around 20 years ago and she didn’t plan to wrestle on TV. Her love of wrestling is the only reason she got into the business.
Here is the caption from her post:
“Let me start with: WATCH @nwa’s PPV #IntoTheFire this Saturday @ 6:05pm!!! The order link is in my bio!!! I have so much to say but I have to run errands and get ready for this weekend. But 1st, feel free to swipe left and if you continue to read this… just in case you’re one of the few that assumed I came out of a magazine and into the ring back in the day (which there’s nothing wrong with! We have legends that found their wrestling calling like that so don’t try to take away anyone’s accomplishments because of it), on a Wednesday, around 1999-2000, I started wrestling at @ewfempire. I loved wrestling and I didn’t know they had classes! It never occurred to me that it could be a career! For me it was like taking a cardio class at the gym and I was doing it because I had love for it. It wasn’t to be on tv. I mean, who am I? I’m just an average girl from SoCal. There’s prettier people than me, taller, stronger, faster… there’s no way a dream like that could come true for someone like me. That’s what I thought. So you have to understand, I wasn’t out to make history, to gain approval, to be rich or famous. I loved it and wanted to see how far I could go so I could make my parents proud. Even they thought it was crazy. ? When I got a contract, I wanted to entertain people the way I was entertained when I watched. My intentions were that simple. But the journey in fulfilling those intentions weren’t. LOL. Oh well. It was worth it because we made history. We inspired creativity & strength. It was worth it for the hearts I did touch. Even if it was only a few. I may not be everyone’s cup of tea and I may not be a favorite but I know I did my part in telling the stories that needed to be told and when it came to entertaining. I can end my career today knowing that and being secure with it.”
