A former WWE and Impact Wrestling star is calling it a career. Kimber Lee went to social media to announce her retirement from professional wrestling while stating she will no longer accept active bookings. Lee has not wrestled since October 2022 but was still under contract with Impact Wrestling.
“The goodbye that I thought would never come,” Lee wrote in the social media post. “The mistress that has overtaken my life for the past 15 years. At times, wrestling was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I have been to places and I have gotten to see things that I never would have dreamed of in my lifetime. But at the same time, there comes a point in everyone’s life where things just cannot continue in the same fashion that they have, because circumstances and goals evolve and change.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“I know that I am coming completely from left field for some of you, and that is understandable as have been rallying as if a comeback is on the way. But that is not the case. I have been deeply working on myself this past year, coming to terms with some very harsh realities, and learning a lot about myself and who I am in the process.”
Lee, 32, joined Impact Wrestling in 2020 but has not competed with the company since last 2021. Before joining Impact, Lee was in WWE from 2016-2018 and wrestler under the name Abbey Laith. She was on the NXT roster and competed for the NXT Women’s Championship in 2017. Lee also spent time in other promotions such as Combat Zone Wrestling, Shine Wrestling Chikara and Women’s Superstars Uncensored among others.
“I originally thought that this was just going to be a break from wrestling,” Lee wrote. “That after some time I would be ready to put my heart into this again and come back better than I have ever been before. But the thing is, the more I think about it, the more I come to realize that my heart is not in this anymore. Kimber Lee brings me instant heartache and anxiety, not the butterflies and joy that once was. There are too many painful wounds that come with going back into this world, and I am not willing to give those wounds my power or dominion over my life anymore. With that being said, I will no longer be. Taking active bookings for the foreseeable future. Kimber is going to step away from the squared circle, and Kimberly Frankele is going out into the world, ready to become something amazing.”
