Video: Saraya aka Paige shares throwback video of her reaction to getting first WWE contract at just 18 years old
Saraya, formerly known as Paige, reveals old footage of her receiving her first WWE contract at the age of 18.
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Saraya shares footage of her reacting to her first WWE contract (via WWE and @saraya/X)
Saraya, formerly known as Paige, made her mark in the wrestling world at a very young age. She was already competing in the European wrestling circuit in 2005, at the age of 13, and had secured a WWE contract just shortly after becoming an adult. The 32-year-old recently took a look back at the journey that had brought her to where she currently was.
Saraya recently uploaded a throwback video on her X account, which features her as an 18-year-old receiving her first contract from WWE. She was unsuccessful in her first tryout with the company in November 2010. However, she landed a contract six months later and was assigned to their developmental brand of FCW (Florida Championship Wrestling).
After landing the contract, her stock in the company severely shot up. She gained a lot of traction during 2012 in NXT and would go on to win the NXT Women’s Championship. The 32-year-old made her main roster debut on the Raw after WrestleMania 30.
The Anti-Diva even became the youngest Diva’s Champion of all time at the age of 21 after beating AJ Lee in her main roster debut match. This also made her the only woman to hold both the NXT Women’s Championship and Diva’s Championship simultaneously. She would go on to have more success in AEW, winning the AEW Women’s World Championship in front of her family at All In 2023.
Mercedes Mone reacts to fans calling her unsafe after injuring Saraya to the point of retirement
Despite her early success in the wrestling business, the erstwhile Paige has had to go through a lot of ups and downs to get to where she is, including a premature retirement. She suffered a neck injury after Mercedes Mone kicked her at a house show in December 2017. This led to the English professional wrestler having to step away from the ring for nearly five years.
Speaking on Hot97, Mercedes Mone acknowledged that many fans called her an unsafe worker in the ring after this incident. She revealed that these remarks sent her into a spiral of depression. She wanted to be the greatest in her art, and hearing such remarks definitely demotivated her a lot.
It's scary sometimes, but that's the business we're in. You never know when you're going to get hurt, you never know when you're going to sprain something, break a neck, break a knee. It's just the business. You have to go out there, knowing you're going to put your life on the line. But we do everything we can to protect each other. And unfortunately that happened.Mercedes Mone on Hot97
Mercedes Mone reasoned that this was simply the nature of the business. They do their best to protect each other, but things going south aren’t unheard of in their industry. The former AEW Women’s Champion also never held ill towards the former NJPW star because of this injury. The two have remained great friends since and may even be headed towards a rivalry in AEW soon.
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Mokshit Batra
(1356 Articles Published)