Paige Suspended for Wellness Violation: Latest Comments and Reaction

WWE announced on Aug. 17 that it suspended Paige for 30 days following a violation of the company's wellness policy.

Paige commented on the suspension on Wednesday:

The news of Paige's suspension came on the same day WWE confirmed that Alberto Del Rio would also serve a 30-day suspension for violating the policy. Paige and Del Rio are a couple outside the ring.

On July 27, the former Divas champion shared a photo of her and Del Rio together, along with a note about their relationship:

Paige had been absent from WWE programming for over a month. Her last match was on the June 27 edition of Raw in a tag team bout with Sasha Banks, Charlotte and Dana Brooke.

In a sense, the timing of her suspension isn't so bad, since she's already out injured. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer (via Wrestling Inc's Raj Giri) reported that Paige may be suffering from nerve damage in her neck. Her mother, professional wrestler Saraya Knight, had confirmed on Aug. 6 that Paige was undergoing therapy to heal neck and back injuries.

By the time her suspension is over, Paige may not even be medically cleared to return.

With that said, the suspension is a setback at a time when Paige can ill afford one, given how her WWE career has stagnated. Once the top star in the women's division, she has been surpassed by Charlotte, Sasha Banks and arguably even Becky Lynch.

As with a number of other stars, the failure of the Divas Revolution stunted Paige's momentum, and because of her injury, she hasn't benefited from the reset of the women's division the way Charlotte, Becky and Sasha have.

Paige just turned 24 on Aug. 17, so it's not as if her WWE career is in jeopardy following her rules violation. But it may be some time before she's positioned to be a challenger for the Women's Championship again.