Paige Shares Emotional Update On WWE Return (WWE News)

Paige shares the emotional moment she was medically cleared to return to WWE.

by Andrew Pollard
WWE WrestleMania 42 Bella Twins Paige Brie Bella Nikki Bella
WWE

Having made her shock WWE return at WrestleMania 42 Night 1, Paige has now shared an emotional update on getting cleared to compete again in a WWE ring.

Paige last wrestled for WWE in late 2017, and she'd be forced to retire early the following year due to neck issues. While she'd remain with the company until 2022, the former Divas Champion would take on various non-wrestling roles, from being the SmackDown General Manager, to the manager of the Kabuki Warriors, to an analyst on WWE Backstage, and to a talking head on various WWE productions.

Following her WWE exit, Paige - as Saraya - would get cleared to compete for AEW, becoming the AEW Women's Champion during her time with Tony Khan's promotion, but, until WrestleMania 42, it had been over eight years since she'd been able to wrestle for WWE.

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Taking to Instagram, the Anti-Diva shared the moment she was cleared by a WWE doctor, detailing her long road back to WWE, becoming sober, surrounding herself with the right people, and thinking that she wasn't going to get cleared.

Paige's Instagram post featured the following caption:

"The day I found out I was cleared to come home to WWE. What an emotional journey. Thank you Gilbert Boyas for being there and capturing this moment! It was a long road but man it was worth it!! Thank you everyone for the love since I returned, it means the absolute world to me. This is my house."

That Paige return took place on 'Mania 42 Night 1 when the injured Nikki Bella announced Paige as her replacement in the four-way WWE Women's Tag Team Titles match, and it would be the Brit and Brie Bella standing tall as the new Women's Tag Champions by the time all was said and done.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.