Published: Sep 2, 2025 by Dave Adamson | Last Updated: Sep 2, 2025 by Dave Adamson
Dave has been a website writer for WrestleTalk since October 2022, having previously written for Den of Geek, among a number of wrestling, movie and television-related sites. Dave has been around the independent wrestling scene for more than a decade, including behind-the-scenes.
WWE
A former WWE star has revealed the real reason they turned down an invitation to appear at WWE Evolution this year.
July 13 saw the second-ever all-women WWE Premium Live Event, following the inaugural edition back in 2018.
Barbie Blank – known to WWE fans as Kelly Kelly – previously revealed that she had been invited to appear in the crowd, but had turned it down.
Having stated she hoped to be “back when the time is right”, Blank has now revealed why she turned down the offer in the first place.
Speaking on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Blank opened up about her familial commitments which would have classed with WWE Evolution, saying:
“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.
“I feel like when I come back, I want my kids to see me there and they wouldn’t 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 this is another thing. Somebody on the dirt sheets was like, ‘Oh, 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 LA, 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 want to get them on a plane and do this. There was just a bunch of different things.”
The former WWE Divas and 24/7 champion gave birth to her twins in September 2023, naming her son and daughter Jaxon Matthew and Brooklyn Marie, respectively.
Transcript from chrisvanvliet.com.
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