Kelly Kelly Confirms She Signed WWE Legends Deal, Explains Why She Was Not At Evolution PLE

Family-related logistics were the reason Kelly Kelly was not at Evolution.

For the first time since 2018, WWE presented their all-women’s Premium Live Event, Evolution. It took place on July 13th at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

One day before the show, Kelly Kelly took to social media and explained why she turned down an invitation to sit in the crowd at the event:

“Thank you love 🥹,I was So honored to be invited to Evolution II, to sit in the crowd it just didn’t feel like the right way to come back. I’ll always be proud to have been part of the first, my heart is with every woman in that ring tomorrow. I’ll be back when the time’s right❤️”

Kelly Kelly guest appeared on the newest episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet and dove into why she was not at Evolution. She said the idea that she declined because she would not be wrestling is false. She added that she was contacted last minute.

“I wanted to talk about this because it was a thing so, when I got the call — it was in Atlanta, obviously… again, it was one of the weekends, the only weekend I had off… and my kids, I think they had something going on, and I feel like when I come back, I want my kids to see me there and they wouldn’t have been able to make it. I don’t know. There were just a lot of different things that were kind of keeping me from going. Of course, you read the dirt sheets and every — this is another thing. Somebody on the dirt sheets was like, ‘Oh, it’s somebody in the higher ups said that she only wants to come back if she has a match,’ which could not have been farther from the truth. I didn’t need a match to come back. If it was in L.A., I would have been there, no questions asked. But to fly across the country to do that, like I said in the beginning, with my kids, I’m very picky about what I say yes and no to right now. Maybe when they’re six or seven and they’re grown or bigger and stuff like that, then, I probably would have done it but it’s just, like I said, that was the one weekend I had off. I didn’t wanna get them on a plane and do this. There was just a bunch of different things… It was a last-minute call.”

Kelly went on to state that it had nothing to do with her wanting a match on the card. It had to do with her children and finding childcare because her husband was working that same weekend. She said she would have gladly appeared in the crowd.

She talked to WWE about when they come back to Los Angeles, California, where she resides, and she’s sure she’ll be at that show. Within this overall response, Kelly confirmed that she signed a Legends contract with WWE. That was first reported by Fightful Select earlier this year.

“Probably,” Kelly said when asked if she would have done it if she received the invitation six months in advance. “I would have been able to clear everything and make sure. I think my husband had to work that weekend too so then I was gonna have to figure out my nanny situation. Like I said, if it was on the West Coast, I could have made it work. I could have figured something out. But, my husband was having to — he’s an engineer. He’s building the underground subways here in L.A., and they were doing a night thing so he was having to work. It was just a lot, and that’s the thing, it had nothing to do with wanting a singles match and someone said the higher-ups, and WWE knows exactly why I said no, and they were totally — they were like, ‘When we’re in L.A., you’ll be there?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I will be there.’ So, that was never a conversation, like, Kelly has to come back, she has to be in a match. Never, never… They (social media) said, ‘Oh, well, the higher up said she hasn’t been in the ring in 13 years.’ When I’ve done Battle Royals and stuff, I’ve gotten the call a week before and I got in the ring and I wrestled every day. So, it has nothing to do with that. Everybody that I talk to in WWE knows the reason, so it’s just like for people to come out and be like, ‘Oh, she thinks she’s better than sitting in the crowd’ and, ‘She thinks that she deserves a match’ and it’s like, no, I would have gladly — when they came for the Netflix thing, I wanted to go to that, because it was in L.A. so, it’s just different circumstances that happen, and life, right? So, at the end of the day, I have to thank WWE for my career. They’re who made me. I wouldn’t have the career that I have if it wasn’t for them. I am so appreciative of them. That’s why I signed a Legends deal and that’s why I still come back all the time. But yeah, I think, hopefully, a few years down the line when my kids will be able to sit next to me if I’m in the crowd and cheer me on…”

The last time Kelly Kelly wrestled was as part of the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble. She was part of the first Evolution event and competed in a Battle Royal.

If the quotes in this article are used, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet with an H/T to Fightful for the transcriptions.