WWE's Paige Made Her Long-Awaited Return Years After Her Original Contract Was Not Renewed

When Paige announced that she would be leaving WWE and, seemingly, wrestling as a whole, it was the end of an era. Although she shared some details, fans are confused now about why Paige left WWE and if she might return at some point in the future. She was with the company for a long time by any wrestler's standards.

Paige joined WWE in 2011 at the age of 18. It wasn't until a few years later that she was added to the roster and won the Divas Championship title for the first time. At 21, she was the youngest wrestling entertainer to take home that title. And, from there, her star continued to rise. So, for her to step away from WWE in 2022, after more than 10 years, it was a sad moment for her fan base.

According to Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online in 2022, Paige announced in a since-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) that July 7, 2022, would mark her last day with WWE. She later shared more details about her exit on a Twitch stream, where she went into detail about her WWE contract at the time, which, according to her, had not been renewed by WWE.

"I'm appreciative of WWE," Paige said. "I really am. They helped me so much they got me a therapist when I had drinking and alcohol issues. They kept me a long time even after my neck surgery, sitting on my ass. I felt like I had so much left to give there as someone who can cut a decent promo and do a managerial role. It is what it is."

Prior to that, Paige had spent some time out of the ring due to a neck injury. In 2018, Paige announced during an episode of RAW After Mania that she would no longer be able to perform in the ring due to a neck injury. At the time, she told the audience from the ring, "This is one of the hardest things I'll ever have to say in my entire career."

It was hard to see Paige go after all she had accomplished and been through in the ring, but she shifted over to AEW as Saraya that same year. In 2025, she announced on her podcast Rulebreakers with Saraya that she was leaving AEW. Now, she's back with WWE.

It's not uncommon for wrestlers to jump from WWE to AEW and back again, as long as they don't have a non-compete clause to stick to. The competing wrestling franchises are not part of the same company in any way, and, for some wrestling fans, AEW is just as big if not bigger than WWE now.

Still, according to Paige, WWE is what matters the most to her as a professional wrestler and entertainer.

Per WrestleTalk, Paige said, of her return, "WWE is my home, I was raised here, I'm a WWE girl forever, and a Total Diva. I didn't know how anyone was gonna react, I'm walking out there, I forgot how big WrestleManias were. It was magical, it was surreal, I forgot how to skip at one point. I was like 'what do I do? What does Paige do?'"