CJ Perry

Catherine Joy Perry is an American professional wrestler, manager, dancer, singer, and actor. She is famous for her work with WWE and went by the name of Lana. She is currently signed to AEW where she performs under the ring name CJ Perry.

Early Life

CJ Perry was born in Florida, USA on March 24, 1985. She is of Portuguese and Venezuelan descent and is the eldest of four siblings. Her mother was a ballet dancer and she also aspired to become one after growing up. She spent most of her childhood in Latvian SSR and returned to USA upon turning 17. She pursued a career in music and acting before making it to WWE.

Professional Wrestling Career

Manager (2013-2017)

Perry signed with the company and started working for NXT. She worked as a manager to Rusev and instructed and assisted him during matches. In 2014, they moved the duo to the main roster. The duo stayed together for a year and a half before feuding with each other in 2015. The rivalry was quickly scrapped because of their real-life engagement announcement, and they started working together. The duo worked for over a year before Rusev took some time off.

Singles Run and Various Feuds (2017-2021)

In 2017, they drafted Lana to SmackDown and got a title match. After several losses for the title, they involved Lana in various feuds. Lana entered Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble but failed to win. In 2018, Lana teamed up with Rusev Day and managed Rusev. It ended when Aiden English turned on Rusev, and they took him off television for a while. In 2019, Lana had an on-screen relationship with Bobby Lashley and feuded with Rusev and Liv Morgan. Lana and Lashley won the feud and released Rusev from the company.

In 2020, the pair ended their relationship when Lashley aligned himself with MVP. Lana was involved in a storyline with Nia Jax, where Lana would end up through a table every week on RAW. After getting dominated by Bazler and Nia Jax, Lana became a sole survivor for Team RAW at Survivor Series 2020. Lana got several opportunities at WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, but remained unsuccessful. In 2021, they released Lana from the company.

AEW Debut (2023)

At AEW All Out 2023, on September 3, 2023, Lana made her AEW debut under her real name CJ Perry. She came to save her husband, Miro, from a post-match attack by Powerhouse Hobbs and hit the latter with a chair.

CJ Perry's Husband

CJ Perry was married to fellow wrestler Miroslav Barnyashev since July 29, 2016. Fans know her husband better by his WWE ring name Rusev and AEW ring name Miro. The two have shared the screens in WWE for many years, including Lana managing Rusev before their marriage. Further, upon CJ Perry's debut in AEW in 2023, the two continued to work together on-screen.

The two parted ways from each other in March 2024, as revealed by Perry to TMZ.

CJ Perry's Filmography

Films

Television