WWE Changes Referee's Name To Paige

Chloe Christmas has now been given the same WWE name as the Anti-Diva.

by Andrew Pollard
Chloe Christmas Paige
WWE.com

In a somewhat surprising move, WWE has formally renamed referee Chloe Christmas as Paige.

Christmas can usually be found in the stripes on the NXT brand and occasionally 205 Live, and she's now had her name changed to that of the former NXT Women's Champion and WWE Divas Champion.

For those wondering, Paige 'the wrestler' is still under the employ of WWE. Having been forced to retire from in-ring competition in 2017, the Anti-Diva has been utilised on WWE panel shows and as a talking head on WWE Network productions and co-host of WWE Backstage. She's also had stints as the SmackDown General Manager and the on-screen manager of The Kabuki Warriors.

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Paige was last seen on main WWE programming (via Skype) on a March 2020 episode of SmackDown, where she was the one to announce how then-SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley would defend her prize against Sasha Banks, Naomi, Lacey Evans and Tamina at WrestleMania 36.

In recent months, the Brit's social media activity has teased how an in-ring return could be on the horizon, although the belief is that WWE will never clear her to wrestle again. Of course, Paige could always look to pursue an in-ring return outside of WWE if she chooses to once her contract is up.

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Once Chloe Christmas changed her Twitter username to @RefPaigeWWE, her namesake was quick to drop the following ever-familiar Spider-Man image in response.

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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, Jamie Hayer, 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.