Former SmackDown star officially becomes free agent; wins first match outside WWE

A released WWE Superstar has now officially become a free agent. She recently appeared at an NJPW event and won her first match outside the Stamford-based promotion.

Bea Priestley (FKA Blair Davenport) was moved to the SmackDown brand from NXT during the 2024 WWE Draft. Upon her main roster debut, she faced Naomi and Indi Hartwell in the Money in the Bank Qualifying Triple Threat Match. However, the 29-year-old star failed to emerge victorious.

Following her last televised match in November 2024, WWE released her on February 7, 2025. After her 90-day non-compete clause with Sports Entertainment Juggernaut had officially expired, she returned at the NJPW Resurgence event last night under her former ring name, Bea Priestley.

The Top Gaijin faced Viva Van in a singles match at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, on May 9, 2025. Bea Priestley defeated her opponent in her first post-WWE in-ring outing and later broke her silence on X.

"First day back, you say? I’m back in @njpwglobal 💕🖤 #TOPGAIJIN #NJPW," she wrote.

Check out her post below:

Bea Priestley (FKA Blair Davenport) comments on her WWE exit

The former SmackDown star recently sat down for an interview with Cultaholic. During the chat, she shared that the call from the company about her release allowed her to embrace her identity as 'Bea' once again.

The 29-year-old admitted that the news of her release brought her a sense of relief.

"As soon as I got the call, I was like, ‘Oh, I can go back to being Bea again.’ [laughs] It’s one of those things; you don’t realize how unhappy you are until you feel happy that you got the call saying that you don’t have a job anymore. That was kind of the thing; I was like, ‘Oh, okay, maybe it was good for me to be fair,’" she said.

As of now, it remains to be seen if Bea Priestley's appearance at Resurgence is a part of her long-term agreement with NJPW or not.

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