Former WWE Star Paige Makes AEW Grand Slam Debut As SARAYA

The former Paige blows the roof off of Arthur Ashe Stadium, is now All Elite.

by Scott Carlson
sarya aew
AEW

Saraya, formerly known as Paige in WWE, is All Elite after a shocking debut at AEW Dynamite Grand Slam on Wednesday night.

The Anti-Diva made her AEW bow after the conclusion of four-way match for the Interim AEW Women's World Championship, saving Toni Storm and Athena from a beatdown at the hands of Dr. Britt Baker DMD, Jamie Hayter, and Serena Deeb.

Saraya's WWE contract expired in July, ending her 11-year tenure with the company. A former NXT Women's Champion and two-time Divas Champion, Saraya's in-ring career was cut short by neck injuries, including a final blow that came at a December 2017 house show, which was her last match to date. After that, she served in multiple on-camera roles, including SmackDown GM, manager of the Kabuki Warriors, and a contributor for WWE Backstage.

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Her debut at Grand Slam sent fans into a frenzy at the surprise appearance and immediately thrust her right into the thick of things, seemingly aligned with Storm and Athena against Baker and her cronies.

It's unclear whether Saraya will get back into the ring to wrestle - she did not do anything physical Wednesday - or if she will serve in a different on-air capacity, but her appearance was a true feel-good moment for a company that needed news like this after a bunch of bad personnel publicity recently.

And no, there's no word on whether she's going to form a stable with Paige VanZant, Hangman Adam Page, Ethan Page and Diamond Dallas Page.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.