Report: AEW Star Saraya Cleared to Return from Neck Injury After 2018 WWE Retirement

Newly signed AEW star Saraya has reportedly been cleared to return to in-ring action after suffering a neck injury that forced her to retire in 2018.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t WrestlingInc's Nick Miller), AEW doctor Michael Sampson has cleared Saraya to wrestle.

The 30-year-old Saraya made her surprise AEW debut on the Grand Slam episode of Dynamite last month after previously being under contract with WWE from 2011 until 2022 under the ring name Paige.

As Paige, Saraya was one of the biggest stars in the WWE women's division, becoming the inaugural NXT women's champion in 2013 and then winning the Divas Championship in her first match on the main roster in 2014.

The Norwich, England, native would go on to become a two-time Divas champion, but her career was interrupted by injuries, including a neck ailment that required surgery in 2016 and kept her out until November 2017.

Her return was short-lived, as she injured her neck again in December 2017, compelling her to announce her in-ring retirement in April 2018.

WWE would use Saraya in a multitude of non-wrestling roles after her retirement, including SmackDown general manager, The Kabuki Warriors' ringside manager and a member of the WWE Backstage weekly show on FS1.

Saraya's WWE contract expired in July, which opened the door for her to potentially sign with another wrestling company. She chose AEW and is reportedly in line to wrestle for the first time in nearly five years.

Upon debuting in AEW, Saraya entered the ring and didn't get physical. She then cut a promo on the following episode of Dynamite and booked the first women's lumberjack match in AEW history.

Saraya also got physical by punching Britt Baker, which seemingly foreshadowed her eventual return to the ring.

The AEW women's division has undoubtedly lagged behind the men's division, as well as the women's divisions in both WWE and Impact Wrestling in terms of exposure and television time.

Signing a legitimate star such as Saraya could help change that, and getting her back in the ring would perhaps generate more interest than ever in the AEW women's division.

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