Why Saraya Chose AEW Over WWE

Saraya had a choice to make between WWE and AEW.

In June 2022, Saraya revealed that WWE wouldn’t be renewing her contract, and she’d become a free agent just a month later.

The first-ever NXT Women’s Champion had once been one of the most popular stars in the women’s division, but she’d been out of the ring for almost five years after suffering a second serious neck injury.

Given that she was effectively retired, her career seemed all but over, but that all changed when she debuted with AEW that September. Not only did Saraya return to the ring, but she also went on to become the Women’s World Champion before leaving the company in March 2025.

Saraya Turned Down WWE

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Saraya opened up about her departure from WWE in 2022 and why she decided to turn down an offer to return to the company in favour of signing with AEW.

The British star explained that when she became a free agent, she hadn’t even contemplated wrestling again, and that left her feeling lost and unsure of what to do next. But it wouldn’t be long until AEW and WWE came calling.

Just two weeks after being let go, WWE asked her to return, even opening the door to eventually get back in the ring. However, when AEW made it clear they were also looking to sign her brother, there was only one winner.

“I was never open to the idea of wrestling again, because I just assumed I wasn’t going to do it. So when me and WWE parted ways, I was like, What the f*ck am I going to do with my life now? I can’t wrestle, what the hell am I going to do?

I was a little stressed out, but then, within a couple of weeks, WWE was calling me again to come back. Hunter was the one that called me, and then AEW called me at the same time. So I was just like, well, what the f*ck do I do? Who do I go with?

And then WWE was like, if you want to wrestle again at some point, we can check your neck and we’ll keep that coin in your back pocket. And I was like, Okay. Then I was just gonna do a GM role again there. So I was like, Okay, that sounds great.

But then AEW called me, and they were just like, we’ll sign your brother. And I was like, ok.”

During the same interview, Saraya said she would definitely “think about it” if she were contacted to appear at Evolution on July 13. She added that any appearance would be “bittersweet” as she missed the first Evolution event after retiring a year earlier.