Paige has booked her own return date, and she did it on X rather than waiting for WWE to announce it. She says she will be on the August 14 episode of SmackDown from TD Garden in Boston, one week after Nikki Bella used television time to explain why the Bella Twins turned on her at SummerSlam.
WWE aired a vignette on the August 7 SmackDown in Philadelphia in which Nikki claimed she rebuilt Paige’s career and blamed her for the loss of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship, calling the SummerSlam defeat to Fatal Influence the final straw. She closed by vowing to make Paige’s life a living hell.
Paige answered the same day, having already signaled she wasn’t finished with the Bellas in the hours after the attack.
“I saved your ass from getting pinned twice at summerslam.. I’m also the one who WON those championships. I’ll be back next week. You haven’t seen anything yet babe.”
The championship claim holds up. Paige returned at WrestleMania 42 as a replacement for an injured Nikki, teaming with Brie Bella to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship in a Fatal 4-Way. That substitution is the exact grievance Nikki aired walking up the ramp at SummerSlam, when she told the camera, “Lesson learned, don’t ever take my spot.”
Nikki Bella Heads To Boston Alone
Brie will not be there to back her up. She suffered a broken scapula during the SummerSlam match and is sidelined while she recovers, which leaves the Boston segment as Paige against Nikki with no third body on either side.
Three title matches are already set for August 14: Baron Corbin (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes for the United States Championship, Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Jacy Jayne for the Women’s United States Championship, and R-Truth and Damian Priest (c) vs. The War Raiders vs. The MFTs in a Triple Threat for the WWE Tag Team Championship. WWE has not announced a match for Paige.
