Praising her for her successful AEW debut, Booker T has discussed the time he inadvertently got Saraya – then-Paige – in trouble in WWE!
Saraya made her emphatic entrance into All Elite Wrestling at Grand Slam Dynamite, signing with the Tony Khan-helmed promotion after departing WWE this past July. ‘The Anti-Diva’ came to the aid of Athena and interim AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm, standing tall with them to end the segment.
During her time in WWE, though, Saraya – then-known as Paige – actually got in trouble for the way she once introduced Booker T. Speaking during his Hall of Fame podcast, the WWE Hall of Famer recalled the moment, which led to the two-time Divas Champion getting a ton of backlash on social media:
“I’m serious, it was like a night off working with Paige. I remember getting her in trouble one night because I told her to introduce me as the ‘OG brother from the hood.’ [She got] so much e-mail [and] social media, people were blowing her up. I actually had to go out and defend her and say, ‘Come on, guys, I told her to say that’. She wouldn’t have done anything like that. I always had a good time working with Paige.”
Booker T worked regularly with Paige during the WWE Backstage show on FS1, where Booker was a co-host alongside Renee Paquette. Both formed a close relationship with Paige to such an extent that Renee was allegedly the only person who knew of her surprise AEW appearance.
Booker continued, praising the now-Saraya for “still chasing that dream”:
“That smile was just radiating through the arena. So yeah, man. I’m glad to see her back. Me personally, Paige has always been one of my favourites. She’s always been that chick, so I’m just glad to see her back.
I’m just glad to see her still chasing that dream. Because, man, that’s what this thing is all about.”