Saraya Says She Never Discussed In-Ring Return With WWE

Saraya AEW debut

Saraya once again gave little away regarding her in-ring future before revealing that she never discussed wrestling again with WWE after her 2018 retirement.

Back in early July, Saraya, known as Paige in WWE, left the company upon the expiry of her contract. The star hasn’t wrestled since December 2017 where she sustained a serious neck injury, just months after returning to the ring following a similar issue.

The first-ever NXT Women’s Champion called time on her in-ring career four months later, but remained with WWE performing a number of on-screen roles.

However, the British star often spoke of her desire to wrestle again and upon debuting in AEW at Dynamite Grand Slam, speculation ran wild suggesting she would indeed be back in the ring. This has since been followed by reports appearing to confirm that she has been cleared by All Elite Wrestling.

Speaking on a recent Twitch stream, Saraya revealed that she signed with AEW around two weeks before making her debut.

“It was like two weeks before because (Chris) Jericho, (Jon) Moxley, and Tony (Khan) were all like, ‘it would be good if you were on Grand Slam in two weeks.’ That’s when it all started. Everything was good, literally until it….I signed literally the day. It was the craziest two weeks.”

The star gave little away regarding her medical status, but did explain that she’s very aware of what her body can and can’t do.

“I’m not looking to bump around like crazy like I did before. I need to make adjustments and be smart about it. I’m very aware of what I can and can’t do,”

Perhaps surprisingly, Saraya also admitted that she never discussed getting back in the ring with WWE after being forced to step away in 2018.

“We never had that discussion. I never had that discussion with WWE because they let me go. I’ve been working years to better myself and be healthier and stronger. Me, mentally, I never brought it up because I had this mental block. I want to be as safe as possible. I know what my body can do. Me and WWE never had that discussion about having a match. I never brought it up to them about me potentially wrestling.

If I was to talk them about it, I’m sure they would do the research. I wasn’t mentally ready. It still makes me nervous, but I’m way smarter about it. I know what I can and can’t do. I’m not expecting to do six German suplexes off the top. I’m not that wrestler anyway,”

On the October 5th episode of Dynamite, Saraya brawled with new rival Britt Baker, which marked the first time that the star had done anything physical in-ring since late 2017.

H/t to Fightful for the transcription.