Former WWE Star Paige Makes Surprise Appearance in AEW

09/22/2022 06:13 pm EDT

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) received a major boost on Wednesday night. During AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam in Queens, New York, Saraya, who went by Paige when she was with WWE, made a surprise appearance following the four-way match between Toni Storm, Dr. Britt Baker, Athena and Serena Deeb. As the crowd was giving her a huge reception, Saraya did her "this is my house" scream before embracing Storm and Athena, according to Wrestling Inc.

After Dynamite: Grand Slam, Saraya went to Twitter to react to her return to professional wrestling. "F—ing WOW! Absolutely blown away by the pop in the stadium and the reception outside of it. Been a long journey. Couldn't be happier to be in [AEW] thank you to everyone!" she wrote. "And thank you to my babe [Ronnie Radke] for letting me use his song Zombified! LFG!!"

Saraya's appearance in AEW comes nearly three months after her contract with WWE expired. It is believed that Saraya is joining AEW as an in-ring performer despite not competing in a match since December 2017 during a live event at Madison Square Garden. In that match, Sarata suffered a severe neck injury which forced her to retire from in-ring competition. After the injury, Saraya appeared on WWE TV over the years as a manager or commentator. According to Figthful Select, AEW had conversations with Saraya love the summer and WWE was interested in bringing her back. This report was released before Saraya made her surprise appearance in AEW. 

Saraya worked in the independent scene for seven years before signing a contract with WWE in September 2011. She worked in the developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling for a year before it was turned into NXT. In July 2013, Saraya made history by becoming the first NXT Women's Champion. And in April 2014, Saraya made history again after she beat AJ Lee to win the Divas Championship at the age of 21. She was also the only woman in WWE history to hold the NXT Women's Championship and Divas Championship at the same time. She would win the Divas Championship again later in the year and would be one of seven Superstars to win the title multiple times. Saraya's career in WWE led to a documentary being made about her life called The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family. It was then turned into a full-length movie called Fighting With My Family, and Saraya was played by Academy Award winner Florence Pugh. 

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