Saraya fka Paige in WWE had emerged to become one of the top stars of the company during her heyday. After not getting her contract renewed by the WWE, she arrived at the AEW women’s division as one of the pioneers much like her days in WWE. The debut in the Tony Khan-owned promotion also allowed her to make a return to the in-ring competition.
This automatically added more layers to her already documented story of an illustrious in-ring career that started all the way back at an age of just 13. No wonder why Saraya is considered to be an icon by the one-time WWE NXT Women’s Champion, Roxanne Perez.
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Over the course of her short WWE NXT career, the superstar with The Prodigy nickname lived up to the expectations as she emerged as the winner of the inaugural women’s Iron Survivor Challenge. Shortly after that win, she also claimed the WWE NXT Women’s Championship from Mandy Rose. With that win, Perez has joined the legacy of a hall of champions, a list that also includes Saraya.
Perez followed Saraya from her teenage days
Talking on the Faction 919 podcast, Perez cited how Saraya, then-Paige inspired her to enter the world of professional wrestling as a teen,
“I remember watching Paige become the first-ever ‘NXT’ Women’s Champion, and I think she was 18 or 19 at the time, and she also had started training when she was like 13. She was a huge inspiration for me because it just showed me that like, ‘Wow, it doesn’t matter how old you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re 29, if you’re 18, you can literally make anything happen as long as you just put in the work, be consistent and just keep your mind right.'” (quotes courtesy Wrestling INC)
Perez also remembered how as a young, she had always wanted to capture a championship in the WWE. Now, it’s “a full-circle dream come true,” for her as she has joined a historic spree of veteran WWE Women’s Superstars cum former NXT Women’s Champions, including Saraya, Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Asuka, and more.
After retiring from competition in WWE, Saraya served in non-wrestling roles for the company, most notably as one of the greatest Smackdown general managers of all time to add to her legacy. Then she left WWE in July 2022 and later on signed with All Elite Wrestling in September of that same year.
