Former WWE Star Layla El Explains Why Wrestling Retirement Was 'Horrible'

Former WWE star Layla El recently talked about how hard it was to leave wrestling. Layla, who stopped wrestling in 2015, shared her feelings on "Busted Open Radio" about walking away from the sport she loved for many years.

Layla joined WWE in 2006 after winning a contest called the Diva Search. During her time with WWE, she won the two most important titles in the women's division at the time – the Women's Championship and the Divas Championship. She was also famous for her team with Michelle McCool called "LayCool."

Even though she had a great career, Layla said deciding to retire was very difficult.

"Oh, it was horrible. Because wrestling, I had been doing it for nine years... it became my identity, it definitely became something like, that's what I do, that's who I am, 'cause it engulfs your life so much," Layla said. "I had a really, really hard time coming to that decision, but I needed to be done. I was getting older, they were bringing in all these new girls, and my time was just up. And I was like, ok am I gonna just sit here and have people looking at me, like, oh when is she gonna quit, or she's such a sad case, look at her, she's still here. I didn't want that to be my story."

Her honest words show a problem many wrestlers face – knowing when it's time to stop. As WWE started bringing in new women wrestlers like Paige, Charlotte Flair, and Sasha Banks, Layla knew that things were changing.

After leaving WWE, Layla has kept a quiet life. She got married in 2015 and is involved in other ventures outside of wrestling. She sometimes attends wrestling events to meet fans, but mostly stays out of the spotlight.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.