After leaving WWE in July many fans thought that it was a done deal that Saraya would find her way to All Elite Wrestling. However, when she walked out at Arthur Ashe Stadium mid-way through Dynamite Grand Slam the wrestling world was still caught totally by surprise.
During an episode of the AEW Unrestricted podcast, referee Aubrey Edwards and Tony Schiavone lifted the lid on the lengths the company went to keep her debut a secret. AEW are no strangers to making sure surprise appearances are kept a surprise with Tony Khan famously not using CM Punk’s name in pre-show meetings ahead of his debut. He was simply known backstage as the “special guest.”
AEW Hid Saraya In A Closet To Keep Her Debut A Surprise
During the conversation, Edwards revealed that Saraya was hidden in a closet marked “Tech Supplies.”
“We had Saraya show up, which was incredible,” Edwards said. “I think they hid her in a closet that was labeled like, ‘AEW Tech Supplies.’ So, everyone knew not to go in there.”
Schiavone added “That’s exactly what they did, yeah.” Edwards said she realised there was something amiss, “Yeah, I love that. I was like, ‘When did we have a tech supply closet? Oh, okay, smart, smart.'”
Since arriving in AEW, Saraya has entered into a feud with Britt Baker. The pair shared a tense stare down during the British star’s debut and the animosity has only increased. Baker and the first-ever NXT Women’s Champion have already battled on the microphone and that has led to them brawling more than once.
After a backstage clash on October 26th, it was announced that Saraya and Baker will have a sit-down interview on the next episode of Dynamite.
Saraya hasn’t wrestled since December 2017 when she suffered a serious neck injury which was believed to be career ending. However, it has recently been reported that the star has now been cleared to return to the ring.
H/t to Wrestling Inc