Saraya, formerly known as Paige in WWE, made her debut for All Elite Wrestling last Wednesday at Dynamite: Grand Slam.
The special edition of Dynamite aired live From Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. Toni Storm defended the AEW Interim Women’s Championship against Britt Baker, Serena Deeb, and Athena. Toni won the match to retain the title was attacked from behind by Britt and Serena. Jamie Hayter made her way to the ring but it was revealed that she is still aligned with Britt Baker.
The heels beat Toni Storm and Athena down until Falling in Reverse’s “Zombified” blared through the speakers. Saraya made her debut and came down to the ring to a tremendous reaction. Britt, Serena, Rebel, and Jamie all retreated as Saraya stood tall with Toni and Athena in the ring.
Star Power
Saraya instantly brings star power to the women’s division as evident by the reaction she received during her debut. She was The Anti-Diva in because she didn’t look like other female WWE Superstars and many fans connected to her.
People around the world also found out about Saraya (Paige) on the hit reality show Total Divas. Her debut at Dynamite: Grand Slam has already garnered close to 1.5 million views in five days. She also has 2.7 million followers on Twitter, 9 times the amount of MJF and Britt Baker, and over double the total of followers former AEW EVP Cody Rhodes currently has.
Experience
Saraya performed in WWE as Paige from 2011 – 2022. Her final match for the company happened at a house show in 2017. Sasha Banks connected with a kick to the back of her neck and it marked the end of her in-ring career for WWE.
She became the inaugural NXT Women’s Champion and held the title for 301 days. Her reign only came to an end because she defeated AJ Lee to become the Divas Champion on the RAW after WrestleMania 30. She would team with AJ Lee to defeat The Bella Twins a year later at WrestleMania 31, in what would be AJ’s final match.
After becoming the youngest Divas Champion in company history at the age of 21, she shared the ring with some of the best female wrestlers on the planet for years in WWE.
Following her in-ring career, Paige served as the SmackDown GM for a bit before becoming a manager for former WWE Superstar Kairi Sane and Asuka’s tag team known as The Kabuki Warriors. Asuka and Kairi eventually turned on Paige by spitting green mist in her face.
She also was a co-host of the talk show WWE Backstage on Fox from 2019-2020. Saraya has been a full-time wrestler, a GM, a manager, and a media pundit all before the age of thirty. WWE opted not to resign Paige and her contract expired earlier this year in June.
Leadership
In addition to accomplishing so much in her career that there has already been a movie made about her, Saraya has also experienced the downfalls of being a public figure.
She has been subjected to personal leaks, a dysfunctional relationship that played out in the public eye, suspensions, injuries, you name it, she has dealt with it.
Saraya has been through everything there is to go through when it comes to being a popular professional wrestler. AEW appears to have an abundance of backstage issues as of late, including the AEW Women’s Champion bowing out of her title match a few days before All Out.
It remains unclear if Saraya is cleared to return to the ring or has signed with All Elite Wrestling for another role. As proven throughout her career, Saraya can do just about anything in the wrestling business. Saraya will address the crowd tomorrow night on Dynamite in her first promo in AEW.
Are you excited about Saraya’s arrival in AEW? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
