Ex-AEW Champion Feared In-Ring Return Was A Mistake

A former AEW Champion didn’t initially enjoy getting back in the ring.

In 2016, Saraya, then known as Paige in WWE, underwent neck surgery as she battled to save her career despite only being in her 20s.

Thankfully, the surgery was a success and she returned to television on November 20, 2017. However, disaster was waiting just around the corner. A month, and seven matches later, the star suffered another neck injury during a live event and was ultimately forced to retire.

Although she continued to work for the company in a variety of on-screen roles, Paige left the company in 2022 having never wrestled in a WWE ring again.

Saraya Reflects On In-Ring Return With AEW

Despite WWE’s reluctance to clear her for an in-ring return, Saraya signed with AEW in September 2022 and achieved her dream comeback. The star later went on to win the AEW Women’s Championship and suffered no ill effects from her previous neck problems.

But that doesn’t mean there weren’t some struggles along the way.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Saraya revealed that she found wrestling again so difficult she wondered whether she’d made a mistake in trying to return at all.

“Going back was so hard. My body was no longer a giant callus. I wasn’t a tough, giant scab any more – I was soft and to start taking all the bumps again was awful. I did think I’d made a mistake at first.”

On March 26, Saraya announced her departure from AEW, six months before her contract officially expired in September. Although she appears in no rush to get back in the ring on a full-time basis, it’s been widely speculated that the British star will eventually return to WWE.