WWE Tried To Re-Sign Saraya Before AEW Debut, Offered Her Matches

Saraya is now in All Elite Wrestling, but things weren’t as cut and dry as they appeared with WWE.

Even though Saraya, then known as Paige, was sidelined for the majority of her last five years in WWE, we’re told that there was some confusing messages sent regarding about her physical status, ability to wrestle, and the way that things went down.

We’re told that Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis chose to not renew her deal when it expired, and when the announcement was made publicly by Saraya was when she was informed. Those that we spoke to said that Saraya’s deal was surprisingly low, and much of her outside projects were restricted to some degree.

However, we’re told by those familiar with the situation that Saraya was actually offered the General Manager position by the new WWE regime, about a month after her deal was not renewed. That was a spot she held years ago, before WWE did away with authority figures for a while. However, higher ups also mentioned to her that if she ever wanted to return to the ring and wrestle, they would make that happen. There’s a lot of conjecture and rumors about WWE getting Saraya numerous doctors to get her cleared, but we’re told that’s not true — to the extent that WWE didn’t have her checked at all for a return to the ring, and Saraya actually went through three extensive health checks to gain clearance for an in-ring return herself. We’re even told that WWE wasn’t interested in bringing her back prior to the new regime, and wouldn’t sign off on X-Rays to have her examined, and that the case was closed as far as they were considered.

Ultimately, Triple H’s new regime did make efforts to get Saraya back in the fold, and everything we’ve heard points to a positive relationship between those two sides, with Triple H being shocked her deal wasn’t renewed by the previous regime. The information we’ve gained is that ultimately the freedom to do outside projects without giving up a cut. It was implied that she makes more money in AEW, though that wasn’t cited as a reason for her heading there.

This article first appeared on our premium service, Fightful Select and was republished here on Fightful. If you complain about it being “old news,” you have to pay for SRS’ doordash fees. Subscribe to get exclusive news every day, and a half-dozen weekly podcasts.

To directly support us and our continuing breaking news, interviews, and the like, subscribe to FightfulSelect.com. You’ll get exclusive news sent to you directly before anyone else, and dozens of podcasts monthly including Alex Pawlowski’s Sour Graps, Sean Ross Sapp’s Q&A, Retro Reviews and more