After months of speculations, Saraya opted to make her return to a professional wrestling program via AEW Dynamite. This happened after Toni Storm successfully retained her AEW Interim Women’s World Championship in a fatal-4-way match at the Dynamite: Grand Slam episode.
Storm and Athena were on the receiving end of a beatdown at the hands of Britt Baker, Jamie Hayter, and Serena Deeb when Saraya made her unexpected return to TV to start a feud with Baker and her gang. Then at the AEW Dynamite 3rd anniversary episode, the two came to blows inside the ring to shock the world, even more.
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This was for the first time since December 2017 that Saraya got physical inside the squared circle. Afterward, reports clarified that the first-ever WWE NXT Women’s Champion was indeed cleared to be back in action by AEW doctor Sampson. Many wanted to see this happening in the WWE like past occasions featuring Daniel Bryan or WWE Hall of Famer Edge but that never happened.
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Saraya never asked WWE officials about an in-ring return
While speaking on her Twitch channel Saraya revealed that she never had any discussions with the WWE in the first place about returning to the company in any wrestling capacity. She also did not want to bring up the context to the company because she was released in the first place,
“We never had that discussion. I never had that discussion with WWE because they let me go. I’ve been working years to better myself and be healthier and stronger. Me, mentally, I never brought it up because I had this mental block. I want to be as safe as possible. I know what my body can do. Me and WWE never had that discussion about having a match.”
Previously known as Paige in the WWE, Saraya left the company back in July after WWE decided not to renew her contract for some reasons. She was left with no choice but to retire from in-ring competition in 2018 after suffering an injury during a live event in December 2017. She played different other roles in the coming years but she never wrestled, again in the company.
Prior to her debut, WWE fans obviously wondered whether she would end up returning to WWE, down the road under the new creative leadership of Triple H. That did not happen and not having a discussion about a wrestling return is one pivotal reason. But Saraya can expect to have plenty more in-ring competition while being in AEW.
