FLASHBACK
According to Hemme, the company cited budget cuts and the creative team having nothing for her as the reason for her dismissal. She released the following statement on December 20, 2005, addressing her departure from WWE:
“Hello everyone! Thank you so much to everyone who has and is still supporting me. Even though the partnership with WWE and I did not end very will [sic], I am truly thankful for the experience. All I can say at this time to clear up some of the rumors, there was no battle over money. Money was never my motivation for working. Truth is that I was completely dedicated to the company and believed in everything I was doing. I trusted it. I was willing to put my personal life aside to give everything I had to what I was doin and become better wrestler/performer. I was told that I was a budget cut and creatively they didn’t have anything for me. I am very disappointed in the WWE, where I learned a very important lesson. I am a very determined person with a huge amount of engery for my life and my career. Everything happens for a reason and anything that has happened in my life that has knocked me down has only built me back up stronger. I feel stronger than ever and I am hungry for this huge future before me. Again, THANK YOU soooo much to everyone who has believed in me and is supporting me.”
In 2008, however, she gave a much more cryptic answer in an interview with the official website of her employer, TNA Wrestling.
“My departure from WWE was on my own terms because I stuck to my guns on my morals and values as a human being. I knew in my gut that it would be the end, but I also knew that carrying guilt for knowingly doing something against what I believed wasn’t worth getting ahead. Leaving broke my heart … but doing the right thing is something I will always be proud of.”