5 Things you didn't know about new AEW signing Marina Shafir: Married to a WWE Superstar; close relationship with Ronda Rousey

#1 AEW's Marina Shafir has struggled to find work since getting released from NXT

AEW is a great landing spot for Marina Shafir. But it hasn't been an easy road for the wrestler since her release from WWE over the summer. She believes that other wrestling companies avoided her because she was "NXT-bred."

Shafir opened up about her struggles in a recent interview on the Shot of Wrestling podcast to reflect on her time at WWE NXT and what she's been up to since. When quizzed about her journey of getting back into the wrestling scene following her WWE release, Shafir believes that other companies aren't interested in her because of her past affiliation with NXT:

"I trained with Mercedes Martinez like six weeks back and it was hilarious because we were talking about, 'What you do and how you do it matters.' She goes, 'You're NXT bred.' Nobody wants me because I was raised in NXT," Marina Shafir said. "I don't have Indie experience and I don't speak that language. I speak TV language. I speak 'what do the producers want?' language. Not that it's a bad thing. Being part of that process matters how vulnerable you can be towards people. Coming from NXT, I still get the side-eye. Nobody wants me. Nobody wants the shooter from NXT who has a chip on her shoulder. Nobody f**king wants me."

It seems like the independent wrestling scene is prejudiced towards wrestlers who went through WWE development. While it is unfortunate that Shafir suffered such discrimination, her recent appearance on AEW still serves as positive news.

Here's hoping she gets more chances to showcase herself and prove her doubters wrong in AEW.