AEW's Saraya on Ramping Up For Her Return, 1st Promo Regrets and More

All Elite Wrestling has brought in some big names since its inception, but one could argue the most significant signing the company has made to its women's division is Saraya.

The 30-year-old thought she would have to retire for good in 2017 after sustaining a neck injury, but after almost five years, she has found herself with another chance to do what she loves.

When AEW brought Saraya in, there was immediate speculation from fans about whether she would be working in a non-wrestling role or if she would step back into the ring. At first, it was unclear what her job would entail, but once she got the all-clear from her doctors, she threw herself right into the ring against one of the division's top stars in Britt Baker.

The Norwich, England native was officially cleared at Halloween, so there were only a few weeks between then and her first match at Full Gear on November 19.

We had a chance to speak with Saraya about how she prepared for her return, working with Baker, her plans for the future and much more.

Returning to the Ring

Try to imagine growing up in a family that has dedicated its life to professional wrestling. Your parents and siblings all participate in the ring and behind the scenes, so you naturally follow suit. Now imagine all of that is taken away from you at the age of 25.

For the past several years, fans thought Saraya would have to remain retired due to her neck injury. However, the return of stars such as Edge and Bryan Danielson after similar injuries gave her hope that she would be able to step back into the ring someday.

While the process for getting cleared is never quick, once she got the go-ahead from her doctors and AEW medical staff, she hit the ground running.

"So when it came to taking bumps, I wasn't bumping like crazy until Halloween," she said. "But before that, I was already in the mindset that I wanted to get back in the ring again, whether AEW let me or before that if WWE had let me. I was just in the UK, and I was rolling around with my family out there. But also in rings around here to just get off some ring rust so I'm not completely dying.

"Well, I say that. And then once I got into the match, I was definitely a lot slower. It's a whole different kettle of fish once you start adding all the elements to it. I was like, 'Man, I did this for so long. And I wasn't winded? This is crazy.' So effectively, I got 100 percent cleared and ready to go and start bumping like crazy on Halloween."

Her first match would take place less than three weeks later at the Full Gear pay-per-view on November 19. Even though she could have slow-played it and returned at any time, Saraya wanted to get right back into swing of things.

"I only had a short period of time, which again, was my decision," she said. "All of this has been my decision on how slowly I want to get back in the ring again. And that has nothing to do with a mental block. I'm trying to tell everybody because everyone has an opinion on the internet of how it goes and how many doctors I talked to. Apparently, it's like 25 different doctors when that's not the case.

"I didn't want to get back in the ring again the way I did previously, where I was wrestling, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, travel back, in the ring again, Friday, Saturday. I was consistently working so much and pushing my body way too hard, harder than I should have. Which led to me having to retire.

"So, this time around, I was like, 'I need to be smarter.' And if I want to last longer, in my mind, I feel like I have to take it easy. And Tony [Khan] was all for it. It was a lot harder coming back after five years, let me tell you."

Who Helped Along the Way?

Preparing for a return to the ring after almost five years away would be difficult for anyone, even when they stay in shape. Taking bumps and strikes from an opponent is the kind of thing you get used to, but once you stop, your body forgets what it's like to feel that kind of pain.

Naturally, any wrestler making a comeback would want to properly ready themselves for that kind of physical activity again, so training is vital. Luckily, Saraya comes from a family of wrestlers who were able to help her as she began the journey back to the squared circle.

"Mainly, it was my brother, Zak," she said. "He’s obviously been around my whole life and he's the one who gave me my first wrestling match dressed like the pink Power Ranger. He was there for my trials with WWE, so it just felt more fitting to have Zak around a lot of the time.

"So, when I was in the UK, me and him trained consistently, and then he flew out just for this, just for the training. He wasn't even going to stay for the actual show because he had bookings back in the UK. But luckily the promoters were like, 'You can stay, it's totally fine. We totally get it.'

"Zak was the main culprit in my training. And then I was training a bit at the shows with Dean Malenko. And the match structure itself, that was a lot to do with B.J. [Whitmer] who's a producer. He's fantastic. And he has the same neck injury as me. So, he knew the limit that I could go and how hard I can push it."

How She Feels Now and Backup Plans If She Wasn't Cleared

While she was able to get cleared to compete, Saraya was actually signed to AEW before that happened, so there was a possibility she would have to find another role in the company.

Thankfully, that was something that had been discussed.

"I was always going to have a place, whether it be behind the scenes or even kind of like a GM role or a manager," Saraya said. "They were always going to find a position for me there.

"But straight out the gate, I said to Tony, 'I want to be able to wrestle.' And he was just like, 'Well, maybe we can do it where it's just tag matches. Once you get cleared.' I said, 'Nope, I want to have a singles match. That’s what I want.' And he said, “OK, well if you get 100 percent clear, then absolutely fine.' So, then it was Dr. Sampson.

"That's another thing that people kind of decided they were going to have an opinion on [via] the internet. They thought it was all AEW doctors who cleared me, and it wasn't. They actually didn't want to clear me until they had a full rundown from an outside doctor. Just to see everyone's opinions on it. And luckily, everyone's opinions were the same. And my neck was 100 percent ready to go."

Whenever someone returns from a severe injury, there is always the question of whether they will be able to perform the way they used to. We asked Saraya if she noticed any difference with her mobility during her match against Baker.

"Actually, no," she said. "I was really surprised with that. Like, my neck felt absolutely fine in the ring. And it felt fine after. But everything felt very, very sore afterward, I had to take like a three-day nap [laughs]. But yeah, I feel 100 percent. And I can go again.

"I feel like the more reps I get in, the better it's going to be for me in the long run. Because as much as I don't want to deep dive into a billion matches, I definitely need to get the repetition of being in matches again, so I can get my wind up. That was my nemesis in the match. I got backstage and [AEW producer and coach] Jerry Lynn said, 'Oh, your head was down a lot.' I was like, “Yeah, I was f--king blown up.' [laughs]. But Britt really took care of me too. She really did."

Working with Britt Baker

Her first official opponent in AEW was Baker. Not only is she one of the biggest stars in the women's division and a former champion, but Saraya went out of her way during the Full Gear press scrum to praise The Good Doctor and how well she took care of her.

"I just want to say it because a lot of people don't realize how much pressure Britt was under to be the first person to wrestle someone who was completely out with a career-ending injury and then coming back again on such a sensitive part of my body," Saraya said.

"The fact that she took all that pressure and was like, 'OK, I'll be the first person. I want to be the first person to wrestle you.' And she said, 'We’ll go as fast as you want to go.' Even afterward I said, 'I'm so sorry. I was so slow in there.' And she said, 'Are you kidding? I had the time of my life.' And she was she's just been very positive, even in my promos."

A lot of people fans think talking on the mic is one of those skills that never goes away, but Saraya found herself feeling rusty giving promos and so nervous that she began to doubt whether she had made the right decision to return to the business.

"I was very rusty at the beginning with my promos, and I f--king hate that first promo I did," she said. "And luckily, we had redemption, and me and Britt said, 'OK, we need to make this promo like really good for people to really sink their teeth into the storyline.'

"And we've been working with [Jon] Moxley a lot. He was very hands-on with it. And Renee Paquette. A lot of people don't realize how creative she is. She was helping with this promo, so mum and dad were helping out, I like to call them.

"I was so scared. You have no idea. I've never been this terrified walking into a new company, to then doing this first promo. And that was the most terrifying experience of my life. I was thinking, 'Did I make a mistake coming back to wrestling like this? Does the wrestling world hate me now?' The week after, we started getting in the swing of things."

Who Is on Saraya's Radar?

Whenever someone signs with a new promotion, it creates the opportunity for a lot of first-time matchups. For Saraya, that is doubly true because a lot of women have entered the business in the five years she was away.

She can already cross Baker off her list of potential opponents, but there are plenty of other talents in AEW she is looking forward to facing.

"I worked with Toni [Storm] in WWE, and now I'm working with her in AEW, but I've never been able to wrestle her," she said. "And I've always been such a huge fan of hers, too, so I would love to face her at some point.

"I'm really proud of Jade [Cargill] and just how hard she works. She hasn't been in this business long. She knows she doesn't know much about previous wrestling, but she's so hands-on and wants to learn.

"So, one day, I would love to be able to get in the ring with her because she looks like a star. And she puts in 100 percent and all the matches that she does. She's in the ring every single week at AEW before the show, learning and perfecting her craft. I admire that and would love to be able to face her at some point.

"I really enjoy Nyla Rose. I know Sonny [Kiss] is in the men's division right now, but if she comes over to the women's division, I would love to face her. There are just plenty of women. Jamie Hayter. Willow [Nightingale]. There are just so many women in AEW.

"I feel like I have to step my game up a lot. I have to go back to my Britani Knight days when I was wrestling on the indies, but I'm really excited about it. I just know there's a plethora of talent back there who I'm just excited to work with."

Rapid-Fire Questions

Who would you pick in AEW as a partner to challenge for the AAA mixed tag titles?

"Moxley because he's helped me so much with my promos and stuff like that. or Sonny Kiss."

What about outside of AEW?

"Edge. We can be the Broken Neck Club [laughs]."

What is your favorite cheat meal?

"Pizza. I love pizza. Although I was vegan for the last five years, and I've been dabbling in some regular food recently, I missed pizza. Like good, cheesy pizza."

What is your least favorite part of working out?

"Oh my gosh, all of it. Well, cardio is the worst. I hate doing cardio."

What kind of music are you listening to right now?

"What's funny is I used to listen to music religiously all the time. Now, I only listen to my boyfriend's music. And I'm not saying that to plug him, he doesn't need me to plug him, but I'm constantly around him all the time. And he's constantly writing new songs and all that kind of stuff. So, he's always playing these songs that are in while he's making them. And that's all I listen to."

Do you have a favorite match?

"Yeah. And it's not one you would think because you'd be like, 'Oh, the championship matches.' No, actually not those. I really loved my match was Nattie [Neidhart]. It was one of the best. She came down [to NXT]. And she's always so selfless. She's always putting people over and she loves to bump around.

"And she's just so giving in the match. She's one of the best wrestlers in the world to me. And so yeah, I would say that was one of my best matches because it was very technical. But there was no babyface or a heel. It was just a wrestling match. And I love that so much. So, yeah, I would say me versus Natalya in NXT. I think it was in 2014 or 2013."

Movie Review

We like to end our AEW interviews with a movie review to give readers a glimpse into the personality behind the character. When asked what she would like to discuss, Saraya had a few different titles in mind.

"Can I just talk about my favorite horror movies for people to watch? There was one called The Entity, which is the most terrifying horror movie I've ever watched, but it was from 1979. But it's really freaking terrifying. So, if you're into horror, please watch The Entity. The Sixth Sense from the 1990s, and obviously anything with Florence Pugh in it."

When she brought up the actress who played her in Fighting With My Family, we asked Saraya how many times she has watched the film.

"Oh my gosh, too many times," she said. "I haven't watched it currently, but my stepdaughter, Ronnie's daughter, Willow, she's obsessed with it. So, every time she's here, she has to have it on the TV all the time. So, she's the reason why I had to keep watching this."

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Quotes were edited by the author for conciseness and clarity. You can watch the full conversation with Saraya in the video above. You can follow her on Twitter (@Saraya) and you can follow Chris Mueller (@BR_Doctor).