Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
During tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw from New Orleans, the same venue where she made her official main roster debut, a tearful WWE star Paige (Saraya-Jade Bevis, 25 years old) officially announced her in-ring retirement as a professional wrestler.
As PWInsider.com broke back in January, Paige was informed by WWE management that she would not be cleared to return to the ring after a December in-ring injury.
During a six woman tag team bout on 12/28/17 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island, Paige had her back to Sasha Banks, who was behind her against the turnbuckles. Banks used the ropes to pull herself up and kicked with both legs into Paige's back. Paige, obviously not ready for the bump, went down. She tried to get up but could not get her legs under her. She finally did get up and turned to grab Banks, but immediately fell down again and rolled over to her back, where she remained. The referee checked on her and called for the bell. She was examined by WWE medical personnel and a stretcher was brought to ringside to transport her back to the locker room. After several minutes, Paige finally walked out under her own power.
It was believed at the time that Paige had suffered a stinger, as she had lost feeling in her extremities. Given her previous neck surgery, WWE pulled her from the ring and set up further testing.
Paige's injury came, as most injuries do, at the worst possible time.
2016 into 2017 was an explosive year for Paige that saw her undergo neck surgery, be hit with a pair of WWE Wellness Policy suspensions, undergo the embarrassment of personal and explicit videos being leaked and of course, her public and tumultuous relationship with Alberto el Patron. There were a number of incidents involving the couple that played out in the public eye, including a July 2017 scene at the Orlando International Airport that was so bad, local authorities got involved, later determining not only that Paige was the aggressor in the situation but that there was enough evidence to prosecute her for domestic violence battery. In the end, the District Attorney's office opted not to move forward with the charges.
By the latter part of 2017, however, Paige was cleared medically and was finally back in the ring, spending time at the WWE Performance Center in order to prepare for a television return. She was brought back with great fanfare during a Raw segment last year, helping to introduce NXT talents Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville to the main roster as part of the Absolution faction. The strategy behind putting the group together may have been to devise a way to limit Paige's ring time due to her previous neck issues, while also getting her back on TV in a prominent role. Almost immediately, the trio was clicking, feuding with Sasha Banks, Bayley and Mickie James. Paige was right back where she should have been.
Then, the injury happened.
The irony of the situation, a number of sources have pointed out, is that looking at Paige, no one would think there was anything physically wrong, making it even more unthinkable that she, at 25, is being removed from WWE competition.
A second generation star from Norwich, England who broke into the business at just 13 years of age, Paige's signing to WWE developmental was instrumental in leading to the current incarnation of the WWE women's division. She was one of the first breakout stars of the WWE NXT brand as it evolved from just being a developmental territory. NXT's Women's division, unlike the WWE main roster at the time, specifically focused on the athletic in-ring abilities of the female talents and built stories, title matches and rivalries no different than NXT's male counterparts.
As more and more talents migrated from NXT to arrive on WWE's main roster, the women's division there also evolved, becoming far more performance-based as the division became a more popular and important piece of WWE's product, Paige was not only a major part of moving the division forward, she was the first sign that the tides were changing.
Paige, at the first NXT Women's champion, was moved to the main roster the day after Wrestlemania 30 in New Orleans, shockingly defeating AJ Lee to become the WWE Divas champion in a surprise debut. The decision to have her officially announce her retirement tonight was, in part, to give her a complete circle by having it happen in the same place she made her big debut. We are told it was a Vince McMahon call to have Paige make the announcement tonight.
In defeating Lee back in 2014, Paige became the first and only woman to hold the belts simultaneously. With her Divas championship win, Paige, at 21 years of age, was also the youngest woman to hold the Divas belt. She would go on hold the Divas championship twice and indoubtedly should be remembered as the first female in the current era of female WWE stars.
Paige remins still under contract to WWE and will be a full-fledged member of the Total Divas cast for the next season.
Of course, she will also be heavily involved in the promotion for WWE Studios' forthcoming film Fighting With My Family, which will be released theatrically on September 14th. The film, being produced by The Rock, is based on a British documentary made about her family, The Knights, who have been wrestling and promoting the World Association of Wrestling (WAW) promotion in Great Britain for many years. One of the film's central characters, Raya (short for Saraya, Paige's given name) will be played by actress Florence Pugh as the film follows a fictionalized version of Paige's path to World Wrestling Entertainment, right down to a major scene where they recreate the night she debuted on Raw and captured the Divas championship. The importance of Paige's connection to the film alone should allow her to be showcased in some fashion by WWE until the film hits theaters.
Outside of WWE, Paige has been building a separate brand for herself under the name "Saraya" with the assistance of former WWE star Rosa Mendes. That fashion line was represented over the weekend in New Orleans at Wrestlecon over the weekend.
During her speech, Paige thanked both Daniel Bryan and Edge. Edge, who is backstage at Raw, was also forced to retire due to neck issues and Paige pointed out that he showed her this isn't the end in that Edge was able to move on and have a family and an acting career. Although her situation is very different from his given the nature of their injuries, Paige also noted that Bryan returned from a career-ending injury and that gives her hope that perhaps one day, the decision to retire her could also be reversed.
It was a very emotional speech and as of right now, is believed to be her final WWE TV appearance for some time.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
