Saraya-Jade Bevis, better known as Paige/Saraya, has been wrestling for almost two decades. Born into a wrestling family, Saraya debuted at the age of 13. Her family was considered “crazy,” and they were. Saraya’s mother was a wrestler, and her father was a wrestling promoter.
They were accused of abusing trainees in their academy, among other things. A documentary on them called Wrestlers: Fighting with my Family was also released. Despite all of that craziness, Saraya rose in the industry rapidly.
She signed with WWE at 18 and became part of a budding women’s division at NXT. As Paige, she was the first-ever NXT Women’s Champion. Then, on her main roster debut, she won the now-defunct Divas Title. Post her 2014-15 run, where she won 2 titles and became the head of her faction (PCB), she couldn’t sustain her momentum. Injuries and suspensions slowed her down.
In 2017-18, she came back after a long hiatus and looked like she would finally regain all her lost momentum.
Saraya’s neck injury forced her not to wrestle for 4 years
Saraya returned with a bang as she became the leader of another faction called Absolution with Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. It looked like she would again reach the pinnacle of women’s wrestling as it entered a new era.
Sadly, all was cut short. She competed in her final WWE bout on December 27, 2017. She sustained an injury here that compelled her to retire for four years.
Some of the top female performers in the WWE competed in this match, which was not broadcast on television. The six-woman tag match was held in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, as part of a WWE Live Event.
Saraya faced up against the trio of Sasha Banks (AEW’s Mercedes Mone), Bayley, and Mickie James alongside her Absolution colleagues, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. This match wasn’t brand-new. It happened throughout two consecutive Monday Night Raw shows as well as earlier live events.
Saraya had a neck injury during the fight, hence it was declared a no-contest. From the corner, Sasha Banks delivered a leaping dropkick that struck the English wrestler’s neck squarely.
She instantly collapsed, obviously in agony. Saraya attempted to stand up and go on. She lost her equilibrium, though, and fell to the mat in a heap. The referee instantly raised his arms in the “X” sign. This demonstrated that the injury was genuine and that she required emergency care.
Four months after the tragedy, Saraya declared her retirement from wrestling. She became the general manager of SmackDown after revealing her injury to the WWE Universe during the 2018 Raw After WrestleMania.
Saraya is a magnet for controversies
Saraya/Paige has always been in some sort of controversy or another. She was part of the Knight family, after all.
When she was in WWE, she was always in the news for the wrong reasons. In 2016, she had a severe neck injury that sent her down a dark path in her life. She left WWE to recover and began a downhill spiral in her personal life. Saraya highlighted her troubles during that time in her A&E’s WWE Legends Biography documentary.
I was in an awful relationship at the time, and then I had awful friends around me and just people that weren’t good for my mental health or just good influence on me whatsoever,” Saraya added. “I was just drinking and then the pain never fully went away on my neck, so then I wanted to try and take the pain away. It was like percocets, I loved those, and then I started doing a lot of cocaine too.
Her relationship with Alberto Del Rio was a mess that people couldn’t look away from. She claimed she was physically abused by the former WWE world champion (via Gaw TV). Saraya finally broke free from him in 2017.
She was able to come back, and a movie about her life was released (produced by The Rock). Yet, she could never escape controversy.
Saraya goes to AEW
After her retirement, she became the GM of SmackDown for a short while. They removed her, and after that, she became the manager of the Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) in 2019. When the team kicked her out, she became part of various WWE panels. Other than that, she wasn’t a part of the events much.
When her WWE contract expired in 2022, she had to look for other options. She wanted to come back to wrestling.
As a result, Tony Khan swiftly snatched her up. Even before she was given the all-clear to wrestle, she secretly signed a contract with AEW. At Grand Slam 2022, Saraya made her AEW debut, facing Britt Baker in the ring as the fans went berserk, unsure if she could even bump.
She was eventually cleared and got into a high-profile feud with Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter. Saraya turned heel, formed the Outcasts with Toni Storm and Ruby Soho, and went on to become the AEW Women’s Champion at All In: Wembley in 2023.
Along the way, she mentored the likes of Toni Storm and Harley Cameron. Cameron has turned out to be an entertaining performer, and Storm’s character work has gone to the next level.
She has now announced her departure from AEW. Saraya thought of the time as ‘magical’ and that there was no bad blood between them.
The AEW run wasn’t without its share of controversies. She used to publicly defend her controversial ex, Ronnie Radke(via Chris Van Vliet), and once talked back to a fan and which became a controversy as well.
Yet, she will have a place in AEW’s history. She has recently teased a return to WWE. Will she return as Paige or Saraya? Only time can tell.
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