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Ex-WWE Champion Finally Makes In-Ring Return After 432 Days

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Jul 26, 2026 13:19 EDT
WWE logo over blurred Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark
WWE logo over blurred Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark - Source: WWE.com

A former WWE champion has re-entered the squared circle following a 432-day absence.

Zoey Serrano, fka Zoey Stark, was drafted to Raw after being bumped up to the main roster from NXT in 2023, where she became a one-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion (w/Io Shirai).

On the red brand, Stark allied with WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, which lasted until Payback. During the 2023 event, Stratus faced Becky Lynch in a Steel Cage match.

At one point, Stark interfered and aided her partner, only for her plan to not only backfire, but cost Stratus the match, too. An angry Stratus slapped Stark, which led to retaliation by the younger performer.

Stark laid out Stratus with her Z360 before exiting.

On the May 19, 2025, episode of Raw, Stark was featured in a 3-way Money in the Bank qualifying match against Kairi Sane and Rhea Ripley.

During the match, she mistimed a missile dropkick on Sane, thus landing awkwardly on her right knee, resulting in her being removed immediately. It was later revealed that she had torn her ACL, MCL, and meniscus and would be out for several months.

Just when it was reported that she had regained fitness and could return to in-ring action soon, WWE released her with 20+ wrestlers after WrestleMania 42.

While speaking on Busted Open Radio, Hall of Famer Bully Ray criticized the decision, claiming she never even got the chance to compete, considering she had recovered from her injury.

Think about what she’s going through right now: ‘I tried for a whole year to come back only to have you tell me you’re not even going to give me an opportunity… Not even one match back.’ To me, that’s not right. Give her one match back… give her an opportunity after she rehabbed herself.

Zoey Serrano Returns To Wrestling Outside WWE

After being released by WWE, Zoey Serrano had to comply with a 90-day no-compete clause, which ended on July 23, making her a free agent.

Announcing her free agency, Serrano took to X to share a video of her rehabilitation, with a caption that read: “This season, I am unapologetically coming after everything I want. It’s f*cking showtime.”

She also revealed her new in-ring name as Zoey Serrano as well as the moniker as ‘The Purist.’

On July 25, she competed in her first match in over 430 days at the RevPro Women’s Grand Prix. She lost to Zexius in the first round before beating JGU in the second event.

During the WWE SummerSlam weekend, she has a scheduled appearance at WrestleCon before wrestling for C4 Wrestling, IWS, FSW, SMASH, and more.