Paige Drops Retirement Bombshell After Blockbuster WWE Return
Paige recently appeared on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast and revealed some major details regarding when she plans to call it a day.
Paige (Saraya-Jade Bevis) made a splash return to WWE at WrestleMania 42 as a replacement for the injured Nikki Bella and competed for tag team gold alongside Nikki’s sister Brie Bella.
The return was a triumphant one for Paige as she and Brie won the Women’s Tag Team Titles on the night. Paige was in AEW between 2022 and 2025, and ended her AEW tenure in March 2025. Before this, she had to take a break from wrestling following a neck injury in 2017.
She was part of the Total Divas era of women’s wrestling in WWE, a time when women’s wrestling wasn’t treated equally with the men’s division, like it is today. She was a two-time Diva’s Champion and also the inaugural NXT Women’s Champion. She was one of the women alongside stars like Nikki Bella and AJ Lee, who helped women’s wrestling transition from being about divas and glamour to actual wrestling with strong feuds, storylines, and, later, gimmick matches like the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber.
Paige appeared on the latest episode of Stephanie McMahon’s What’s Your Story? podcast and talked about this WWE run, and said it would be her last.
Paige Says Current WWE Run Will Be Her Last
Paige revealed in the interview that WWE President Nick Khan had medical checks done for her injured neck to make sure she was medically cleared to get back in action in WWE.
The injury she suffered in 2017 almost cut her career short and took years out of it. However, Paige is excited for this current run and says she wishes to do matches she never got to do, like the Women’s Royal Rumble match, which wasn’t happening during her initial run in WWE.
I had to be backstage in Gorilla when the Royal Rumble just started, and no one knew I was retired by that point, you know. And so I just sat there and I was just really sad. It was bittersweet. I was happy that the girls finally got this big match that we didn’t have before.
But I was sad because I wasn’t a part of it, and I didn’t know if I was ever going to be a part of it again. And so to have this moment where I’m back in WWE, my neck is good, I’m wrestling again, and there’s opportunities for me to be a part of these stipulation matches. I mean, man, I’m really excited. I’m really excited for the next couple of years.
Her mention of a couple of years could lead one to wonder if that’s all the time she plans to wrestle for in this run. She goes on to say that she wishes to enjoy her current run and her time in WWE and makes it clear that she won’t be wrestling after this current run.
I came in this time with a mindset where I just want to be happy and have fun, because I don’t think I’m going to be wrestling after this run. I want to just enjoy my time that I have here, embrace absolutely everything, just enjoy the journey. That’s all I care about. But I do want to finally be able to be in the Royal Rumble that I got to not be a part of and do the Elimination Chambers and do all these stipulation matches that were not around.
Also read: Jelly Roll & The Rock’s Agent Played Role In Paige’s WWE Return