Paige Reveals Two Conditions Nick Khan Put in Front of Her for WWE Return

WWE president Nick Khan was adamant about Paige having a clean sheet on her neck and a drug test before agreeing to her return.

Paige Reveals Two Conditions Nick Khan Put in Front of Her for WWE Return

Paige at WrestleMania 42 [via- f4wonline.com]

Paige returned to WWE last Saturday at WrestleMania 42 after a four-year absence from the company. She announced her retirement from in-ring competition on Raw after WrestleMania 34 due to a career-threatening neck injury. However, she remained associated with WWE until mid-2022 in managerial roles.

The fortunes took a joyous turn for the Brit when she debuted in All Elite Wrestling in September 2022 and was declared fit to resume wrestling. The biggest highlight of her stint with the Tony Khan-led promotion was winning the AEW women’s title at Wembley Stadium in front of her family and people in London at the All In pay-per-view in 2023.

But as Paige stated in the WrestleMania post-show last weekend, her goal was always to come back to WWE. How did it come about? As revealed by ‘The Anti-Diva’ herself on Stephanie McMahon‘s What’s Your Story? podcast, she had to meet a couple of demands put forth by WWE president Nick Khan to be able to return.

Khan informed the real-life Saraya-Jade Bevis that her neck ought to be fine in addition to going through a drug test. The youngest Divas Champion in WWE history wasn’t concerned about failing the drug test, as she knew she was clean in that regard. The neck, however, was her only concern, as she hadn’t gotten it checked in years, but it was perfectly alright the last time she did.

Paige flew to Birmingham for her neck scans, and she was pleasantly surprised to see Nikki Bella there, with the latter getting her ankle checked. Paige reached the doctor’s place at about 5:45 in the morning and remained there until 3 or 4 in the afternoon. She started to think that something was off when all the doctors were analyzing the results of the scan on the screen and consulting other doctors.

She thought that they wouldn’t clear her for in-ring competition, and it made her feel even more exhausted and anxious than she was before. However, she bawled her eyes out when Nick Khan came in with the results and uttered, “You ready to go home, kid?” As for the nature of her contract with WWE, it’s reportedly a multi-year deal.

Brie Bella upset about some “stooge” spoiling Paige’s WWE return online

The unfortunate deal about Nikki Bella not getting cleared in time to tag with her twin sister Brie Bella at WrestleMania paved the way for Paige to take her spot. ‘The Fearless One’ stressed that she did her best to overcome the ankle injury but couldn’t, and she didn’t want to ruin Brie’s WrestleMania moment. So she called an old friend to replace her, and it was Paige.

Paige celebrating with The Bella Twins at WrestleMania 42
Paige celebrating with The Bella Twins at WrestleMania 42 [via- WFIN]

The Instagram reel of her return has crossed 8.5 million views as of writing, and every other Paige-related content across WWE’s social media handles has similar kinds of metrics. While seeing Paige walk down that aisle at The Grandest Stage of Them All alongside the Bella Twins was such a feel-good moment, especially for those who lived through the Divas era of WWE; the fans had an idea about it happening.

It’s so because several wrestling insider outlets had already leaked it hours before the show that Paige had re-signed with WWE. Brie Bella took offense with a “stooge” leaking it online. Speaking on the Nikki & Brie Show, she called for such moments to remain a secret, which in this case was the headline-grabbing comeback of Paige to WWE.

Bella vowed to find out who spilled the beans on it and expose the mole that watered down such a special evening for Paige. Regardless of that, it indeed was an evening to remember for the English wrestler as she captured the WWE women’s tag team titles with Brie.

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