Karyn Best, who performed in WWE’s developmental system as Summer Sorrell, has announced that she has been released from the company. In a statement posted to her Instagram account, she expressed her gratitude for the opportunity and revealed that a recurring injury prevented her from showcasing her full potential.
“It is hard to find the right words to express what wrestling means to me. I have developed a passion and love for this business that is unlike anything I have felt before,” Best wrote. “I have loved every second. From long, stressful days filming, to challenging days in the ring, to many hours of rehab. Not a moment went by where I didn’t feel like the luckiest girl in the world.”
She then detailed the primary reason for her struggles within the developmental system. “The reality is that I struggled with the same ongoing injury during a majority of my time at the performance center,” she stated. “This held me back from ever being able to show my true potential in the ring. Knowing that I only got the opportunity to show you a small fraction of what I am capable of is what is hurting me the most.”
Best, a former collegiate track and field athlete, was part of a WWE tryout in the summer of 2024 and was later featured on the WWE reality series LFG. She eventually began performing on the WWE Evolve brand under the name Summer Sorrell.
Her departure is the latest in a series of recent cuts from WWE’s developmental program, which has seen over a dozen talents, including former NXT North American Champion Wes Lee and Anoa’i family member Lance Anoa’i, released in the past week.
Despite the setback, Best ended her statement on a positive and forward-looking note. “But if that was only a fraction, imagine what happens when I’m finally at a hundred percent… the story doesn’t end here — it finally gets interesting,” she wrote.
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