Saraya Addresses Not Appearing in the WWE Royal Rumble: ‘WWE Has To Make That Decision’

During a recent interview with Wrestling With Freddie, former WWE and AEW star Saraya (aka Paige) discussed her career with Freddie Prinze Jr. During the conversation, Prinze revealed his vision of wanting to see Saraya return to WWE as a surprise entrant for the Rumble this year, which didn’t happen, and Saraya shared her thoughts about the topic.

Saraya addressed the viral training videos she recently posted, causing fans to anticipate her possibly making a surprise WWE return as an entrant in the women’s Royal Rumble match. She also noted that WWE held the first-ever women’s Rumble shortly before he announced her in-ring retirement due to a career-ending injury at the time, recalling how badly she wanted to be a part of the women’s Rumble match.

Saraya eventually did make her return to wrestling after signing with AEW several years ago. However, with regards to her not appearing in the Rumble, Saraya explained that WWE would’ve had to make that decision.

Additionally, she did go on to state that she was serious about her wrestling training, showing that she’ll be “better than you’ve ever seen” her if she makes her WWE comeback. Below are some highlights:

Saraya on the Fan Reaction To Her Not Appearing in the Royal Rumble

“So, you know, a lot of people were mad that I wasn’t in the Rumble. And a lot of people thought I was going to be number 30, too. And the amount I’ve never had — well, I’ve had that much support before, but I thought I had lost all that support because of like all my controversy, you know, but it was just absolutely bonkers. There was thousands of videos. There’s like across all platforms on just a couple of training videos, it was at 13 million a couple of days ago, and now it’s like 18 million. It’s at 18 million views now. Like, it is just absolutely insane. And I — I cried one day because of it cuz I’m just like, I can’t believe people still love me, you know, like this is crazy. And yeah, you know, I wish I could be in the Rumble and there was a viral video circulating of the first-ever women’s Royal Rumble. And it was the same year I got told that I couldn’t wrestle again, and no one knew it at the time. And then fast forward, I’d do my retirement speech day after WrestleMania, but no one knew at the time, so I wasn’t part of it. And I was backstage in Gorilla, and you know, I’m really emotional, and I was, you know, they have images of me backstage just crying, just being like, ‘This is what I’ve always dreamed of. This is what I want to be a part of. I hope you know, one day I can be a part of it again.’ So that video was it was viral as well, and everyone’s just like hoping that I was gonna be in this Rumble that I finally get to be a part of that that I’ve always dreamed of being a part of. So, yeah, it was incredible. I wish I was part of it, but there’s more to it. I mean, WWE has to make that decision, you know, not me.”

On Losing Her Passion for Wrestling in AEW

“So, it’s like if you know, one day everyone obviously wants me to go back. I’m taking wrestling so seriously. I lost my passion for it for a second. I kind of fell out of love with it, and it was kind of making me miserable at one point, you know. I feel like the company I was in, I loved being in AEW. I had so much fun, but you know, the character I was doing, I wasn’t too happy with, and I wish I could have done certain matches and certain things, and it didn’t come to be, and it’s fine. Absolutely fine. That’s what was supposed to happen. But, yeah, I just kind of fell out of love with it. And so now I’m just like, I need to start training again. I need to get my *** back into shape. I need to be the Paige that I was in NXT, but better, you know? I can do it at 33 still. You know, I still got it. So, I started training in January, and I had told people I was going to start doing that months ago, and everyone thought I was just posting it for the Rumble. I was like, ‘No, I’ve been telling you guys, training in January. I’m doing this.’ And so, like, I do want to come back to wrestling. I do want to start getting in the swing of things again. And if I was to come back, I’ll be better than you’ve ever seen me. I can promise you that.”

Paige last wrestled on a Title Tuesday edition of AEW Dynamite in October 2024, losing a No. 1 Contendership Fatal 4-Way bout that also featured Jamie Hayter, Nyla Rose, and Willow Nightingale, who was victorious in the bout. In March 2025, Saraya announced that she parted ways with AEW.

It remains to be seen if Saraya will ever get the opportunity to compete in a women’s Royal Rumble match for the first time in her career. However, based on her comments, she appears open to the idea if WWE were to reach out to her.

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Wrestling With Freddie, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.