Saraya revealed the advice she gave to actress Florence Pugh ahead of filming Fighting with My Family in 2019.
The biographical film, which follows Saraya’s journey to WWE, featured Pugh portraying the wrestler. The film’s storyline covers Saraya’s path from her WWE tryout to her main roster debut following WrestleMania 30.
Speaking on the Lightweights podcast with Joe Vulpis, Saraya recalled a memorable moment when Florence reached out to her for guidance before filming her first scene. The scene in question was the final one of the film, where Pugh’s character, Paige, walks down the ramp for a match against AJ Lee on the April 7, 2014, Raw.
“Her first scene was the end of the movie scene where she’s walking out on the ramp. It was in LA. It was called the Staples Center, but she was… she walked down the ramp. I remember her texting me beforehand. She was like, what do I do? Like, she was like, I’ve never done this before,” she said. “I was like, this is literally like, this is acting. You’re acting. Instead, you’re doing it in front of a live audience, right? I was like… Once you walk out, you’re going to feel like they’re not even there. Just focus on Thea (Zelina Vega), who’s in the ring, and you’ll be good.”
The film went on to gross over £41 million at the global box office despite being made on an £11 million budget and was also well received by fans and critics, garnering a 7.0 rating on IMDB and a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Which Wrestler Did Saraya Say She Wanted To Drop The AEW Women’s Title To?
Saraya spoke about her AEW Women’s Championship run following her recent release from the company and who she would have rather dropped the title to instead of Hikaru Shida, who recaptured the title from her just 44 days after losing it. Saraya said that she wishes she could have dropped the title to all-tuned-enemy Toni Storm as that was something she desperately wanted to do, given that Storm was on the rise to become one of the company’s top babyfaces during that time.
H/t to Fightful.com