Paige Makes Surprise WWE Return On Raw
Former Divas Champion back alongside new NXT stars
Paige sent shockwaves through the Raw Women's Division on Monday Night, returning unannounced during a Number One Contender's Fatal Four-way alongside Full Sail graduates Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose.
Following perhaps the most tumultuous year of her personal and professional life, the Norwich-born star was greeted with a hero's welcome from a raucous Houston crowd. Expertly milking the response, Paige briefly addressed competitors Mickie James, Bayley, Sasha Banks and Alicia Fox before revealing her new allegiance with the NXT performers.
A decisive beatdown followed on James, 'The Hugger' and 'The Boss' as Fox scarpered to the back.
The three made a further impact backstage, ambushing Women's Champion Alexa Bliss after the 'Goddess' failed to impose her will on the group.
Paige had been teasing her return - and in retrospect, this new storyline development - for the past several weeks, with a host of social media posts checking in at Orlando's Performance Centre as well as a selection of backstage selfies with colleagues following a visit to Monday Night Raw last week.
Her long-awaited return sparked an enormous response on Twitter, with Paige herself quick to announce the news of her reappearance and the arrival of Deville and Rose following the show.
Paige was drafted to Raw in the original 2016 brand split, but had yet to appear on the flagship show since then. The move controversially split her and then-partner Jose 'Alberto Del Rio' Rodriguez, triggering a departure from the company for him and an extended hiatus for her attributed both to injuries and wellness suspensions. She was medically cleared to return in September, having also allegedly split from Rodriguez around the same time.