Paige has revealed that when she joined WWE, “the aesthetics was tits and ass” for the female wrestlers, detailing a bikini contest in FCW.
Speaking with host Renee Paquette on the Oral Sessions podcast, Paige was asked how she felt with all the pressure of being “the next big thing” in Women’s wrestling once she landed in NXT.
Pushing back on the idea somewhat, Paige reveals that initially she wasn’t that highly looked at, there were others around her with a much more of a “Vince McMahon look”.
Going further, she explains that at the time, the aesthetic of women in wrestling was much different than today – it was much more sexualised.
Back then the aesthetic was t*ts and a**, even though there were a lot of women that were trying their best to want to wrestle.
Like, when I first got there I had to do a bikini contest. Like what the f*ck is that!?
I was like what, I just remember being so mad about it one day because we had to buy a cover and then unveil ourselves in the ring to 12 people in the crowd, there was like literally mostly children there.
I was like this is horrifying, this is not what I signed up for.
The bikini contest Paige mentions was whilst she was wrestling under the Florida Championship Wrestling banner of WWE, a ‘contest’ which Summer Rae won on the night – no thanks to Byron Saxton might I add.
Paige enjoyed 2 years on the NXT brand following FCW’s rebranding, feuding with WWE stars such as Summer Rae, Emma, Natalya and Sasha Banks – her crowning moment being the first-ever Women’s NXT Women’s Champion.
After her success on the yellow brand, Paige surprisingly debuted on the RAW after WrestleMania 30 to challenge (and defeat) AJ Lee to become the new WWE Divas Champion.
This hot take from Paige focuses just how much women’s wrestling has evolved in the past few years on WWE television, from bikini contests to main eventing WrestleMania’s – women’s wrestling has become an equal platform for quality, the likes of which Sasha Banks, Bayley, Charlotte Flair and others showcase week in week out.