Lita says she almost quit WWE during controversial storyline with Edge and Matt Hardy
WWE Hall of Famer Lita has revealed that she almost left the company during the infamous love triangle storyline between herself, Edge, and Matt Hardy in 2005.
Lita and Hardy were a couple on and off-screen at that time. When word got out that she was having an affair with the Rated-R Superstar, it garnered a lot of attention and WWE turned it into a storyline on TV.
During her recent appearance on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette, the Hall Of Famer opened up on the messy situation which almost caused her to quit working for WWE.
“It’s still talked about. My relationships are commented on a regular basis, on my Instagram still or social media,” Lita commented. “Meanwhile, all of the men involved, you know, anything not controversial like with [CM] Punk or Edge or Matt, I guarantee they don’t get asked about it. I know they don’t get asked about it because they’re dudes, and, you know, it’s that double standard thing. I think at this point that’s the problem; what I hold onto, feeling the double standard."
“But I’ll tell you it was not easy," Lita added. "I mean, for sure, I almost quit a month [into] the whole love triangle. At that point, not only was it so hard, it was also out of shame. Like, I wasn’t proud of how I conducted myself. Yes, if I had to do it all over again, I absolutely would have handled myself differently. But I didn’t. So, I was like, make the bed, and you lie in it. And at that point, I was just like, I deserve all of these terrible things that everybody is saying to me. I deserve not wanting to wake up every morning. It was also difficult, as time passed, to let myself off the hook. The only way you can move forward with your life is, sure, you learn from your mistakes and keep going, but you have to forgive yourself.” (H/T Wrestling Inc.)
Lita also said that she believes if the love triangle storyline took place in WWE today, some people might've been on her side to back her up.
Lita on how she and WWE Hall of Famer Edge chose to handle the situation
Although Lita received a lot of backlash during that time, she and Edge talked at the time and they both chose to remain quiet and let it run its course.
She also accused Matt Hardy of trying to get himself over with fans by speaking about it on the internet, which ultimately got him fired by WWE. Hardy was rehired by the company several weeks later.
“So, Adam (Edge) and I talked at the time," said Lita. "We were just like because we can’t unequivocally deny 100 percent of what’s being put out there – and I was not happy with how I conducted myself; I didn’t want to act like I was justifying my actions or trying to make excuses – we both just chose to let it run its course. Matt was choosing to really take to the internet and get the fans behind him, so let him act that way, but we’re choosing to stay quiet. I don’t know if that was even the best way. Like, I don’t know what would have been the best way. Given the fallout, how else would I have done that?”
Lita is considered to be one of the trailblazers of Women's wrestling. She is a four-time WWE Women's Champion and was inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 2014.
Lita last wrestled for WWE at the Evolution 2018 pay-per-view. She teamed up with fellow Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus to take on the team of Mickie James and Alicia Fox.