Saraya Breaks Silence Following In-Ring Return At AEW Full Gear

Written by Craig Ballantyne • Published 20th November 2022
Saraya makes entrance at AEW Full Gear 2022

After being forced to retire for five years due to injury, Saraya made her triumphant return to the ring at AEW Full Gear 2022.

The star made her AEW debut at Dynamite Grand Slam where she helped Athena and Toni Storm see off Britt Baker, Jamie Hayer, and Serena Deeb. This immediately put her on a collision course with the pro wrestling dentist at Full Gear.

Saraya defeats Britt Baker

As the two locked up, fans got behind the Anti-Diva with a chant of “Welcome back” but Baker quickly took control and hit a Neck Breaker on the returning British star, making the surgically repaired neck her key focus for the bout.

However, the former WWE Diva’s Champion gave as good as she got and the action between the two went back and forth throughout the match.

In the end, Saraya was able to hit the former AEW Women’s Champion with a vicious knee strike followed by two Ram-Paige’s for the huge victory.

Saraya comments on her in-ring return

Following the show, Saraya took to social media to share her feelings on how the match went. Despite the victory, the star admitted that she still had to shake off some ring rust, but said it was “so good” to get back in the ring.

“Shaking the ring rust off. But after 5 years man.. It felt so good to be back.”

Prior to stepping into the ring against Baker, Saraya hadn’t wrestled since December 27th at a WWE live event. On that occasion she formed part of a six-woman tag team match that came to an early conclusion after being injured only minutes into the action.

Despite being forced to retire, the first-ever NXT Women’s Champion remained with WWE until July 2022, performing in a number of on-screen roles, most famously as SmackDown General Manager.