48-Year-Old WWE Star Who Retired 11 Years Ago Returns With Unexpected Announcement
A Former WWE Women's Champion has announced a brand-new podcast nearly 11 years after her final match. The project will focus on the Divas Era, featuring untold stories, behind-the-scenes experiences, and memories from a period in WWE history.
It's been nearly 11 years since Layla El stepped into a wrestling ring for her final match, but the former WWE Women's Champion has now resurfaced with a completely different kind of announcement. Instead of teasing a return to competition, she's preparing to launch a new podcast that will focus on a chapter of WWE history that many fans still remember well.
Layla shared the update herself on X, revealing that she was working on the first episode of the upcoming Lay Talk Podcast. The former champion explained that the project will centre around the women of WWE's Divas Era, with plans to revisit stories from that period, discuss behind-the-scenes experiences, and preserve memories from a generation that helped reshape the company's women's division.
Layla wants to revisit stories from WWE's Divas Era
The podcast isn't being positioned as a general wrestling show. According to Layla's announcement, the goal is to spotlight the women who were part of the Divas Era and give them a platform to share stories that fans may have never heard before. She also invited followers to suggest a first guest and asked what question they would ask a WWE Diva if given the chance.
In her post, Layla described the project as a way to pull back the curtain on what happened behind the scenes while documenting a piece of wrestling history. She also used the phrase "Lipstick. Sparkle. Strength." to describe the spirit of the show.
The former champion was a key figure during a changing period
Layla's WWE career overlapped with a period when the women's division was evolving beyond its earlier presentation. The era featured names such as The Bella Twins, Charlotte Flair, AJ Lee, Paige, and Layla herself. Together, those performers were part of a generation that helped push the division toward a stronger in-ring focus.
Outside the ring, Layla also appeared on Total Divas in 2015, giving viewers a look at WWE life away from weekly television.
Layla's final WWE match connects her announcement to a current champion
The last match of Layla's wrestling career took place on July 26, 2015, at a WWE live event. Her opponent that night was Paige.
That detail stands out today because Paige is currently holding championship gold. She and WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella are the reigning Women's Tag Team Champions after Paige returned at WrestleMania 42 and stepped in for Nikki Bella.
The duo added another successful title defence to their record this past Monday on RAW when they defeated Bayley and Lyra Valkyria. The match didn't end the story, though.
After taking the pinfall loss, Valkyria snapped and attacked her longtime friend and mentor, Bayley, turning heel following the championship defeat. That remains one of the latest developments in the women's division while Layla prepares to launch a podcast focused on an earlier generation of WWE stars.