Saraya Reveals When She Was Medically Cleared, How Many Matches She May Have

AEW wrestler Saraya, formerly Paige in WWE, was recently on The Sessions with Renee Paquette, where she talked for the first time about getting cleared to wrestle again, internet rumours, and how many matches she may have. Some highlights from the discussion are below:

On internet gossip claiming she saw dozens of doctors until she found one who would clear her: “I remember talking to the [AEW] doctors and they were like okay, you can do this, but we’re not going to clear you to take a bump. And that’s the whole misconception with how the internet works: “oh, she talked to 25 doctors, and the AEW doctor, Dr. Sampson cleared it.” He didn’t clear me for anything! First of all, I went out there with Britt and we did our own thing. I didn’t ask clearance from the doctor there, I’m gonna be honest.”

On Doctor Sampson telling her she wasn’t ready to take bumps: “[Sampson] was cool with it. He [just said] don’t take a bumpy. You’re not ready to take bumps yet. If you want to actually have matches that means we have to get you completely cleared. That means MRIs, CT scans, everything.

On not wanting a doctor associated with wrestling: “I [didn’t] want to go to a doctor that [was] associated with wrestling because I feel like there’s a little bit of bias there. I don’t want to make the same mistake where I came back and I was wrestling every single day, doing all these crazy things. I really want to be aware and careful of my neck this time around. I really want to get the nitty-gritty of what my neck looks like, and how much I can do, and if I’m going to be paralyzed. Because that was the biggest scare — that if I did wrestle I could potentially get paralyzed.”

On her Halloween appointment with the doctor: “So Halloween — the perfect day, right? — I went to the doctor here in California. One of the best doctors around. He did a bunch of NFL, NBA, all these huge action stars and celebrities. Well, if anyone’s gonna tell me “no,” this guy’s gonna tell me no. He’s fantastic, and his job is on the line if he just lets someone go into work. I got the x-rays done and he was like “these look great, but… we still have to triple-check.” He managed to squeeze [the MRI and CT Scan] in the same day. So I went downstairs for the MRI, I went across the street for the CT scan, I brought them back all in the same hour or so. It was very quick. He sat there and went through them all and was just like [claps] “you’re cleared.””

On what the MRI revealed about her neck health: “I burst into tears. “Are you serious?” So I start asking questions like “What about the fluid around my neck?” I remember seeing the last MRI — and I’m not saying I’m a f****** doctor or anything, but I’ve seen a few MRIs — and there seems to be fluid around that area. So what’s the deal? “The fluid is back. The fusions look perfect. There’s no fractures above or below, there’s no issues.” Okay, let’s talk about paralysis though. He was like “Well, it’s rare. If you get kicked there, you have some cushion now. And if you ever feel like you’re not feeling too well, take some time off. You know your body, but I will clear you to get back in the ring again.””

On how many matches she can have: “I was just like well, how many matches can I have? He was like, “let’s take it easy. We’ll do like one match a month here and there, and then gradually start building it up.” Long story short, Halloween is when I got the full clearance.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit The Sessions with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.