Saraya Announces Exit from AEW Following Comments About Being Open to WWE Return

Saraya announced on her new podcast that she has departed AEW after roughly two-and-a-half years with the company.

Speaking on the first episode of her Rulebreakers With Saraya podcast (h/t Wesley Stenzel of Entertainment Weekly), which drops in full on Thursday, Saraya broke the news.

"I'm here to tell you that me and AEW's relationship has come to an end," Saraya said. "I had an amazing time there. There's no bad blood between us. I had such a magical time."

Prior to joining AEW in September 2022, Saraya was under contract with WWE from 2011 to 2022 under the name Paige.

During an appearance on Booker T's Hall of Fame podcast (h/t Fightful's Skylar Russell) on Tuesday, Saraya said she would "definitely" go back to WWE in the future "if there's an opportunity to do something fun."

The 32-year-old veteran from Norwich, England, famously began wrestling at the age of 13 after being born into a family of wrestlers and wrestling promoters.

In 2019, a movie entitled Fighting With My Family was released, and it was a biographical look at Saraya's life and career in pro wrestling from its early stages to her time in WWE.

In WWE, Saraya became the inaugural NXT women's champion in 2013, and in her first match on the main roster the following year, she beat AJ Lee for the Divas Championship.

Saraya went on to become a two-time Divas champion, but she was forced to step away from in-ring competition in 2018 due to a neck injury.

She remained with WWE for the next few years, serving in various roles, including SmackDown general manager and manager of the Kabuki Warriors.

Saraya left WWE when her contract expired in 2022 and signed with AEW shortly thereafter. She was cleared to wrestle in AEW and had her first match since December 2017 when she beat Britt Baker at AEW Full Gear in November 2022.

The peak of Saraya's time in AEW came at All In 2023 in London when she won the AEW Women's World Championship in a four-way match in her home country of England.

Saraya held the title for less than two months, and she dropped down the card for most of the remainder of her time with AEW.

In a post Wednesday on X, Saraya said it was a "mutual" decision to leave AEW, adding that she "had such a blast" during her time there.

Saraya left the door open for a return to AEW down the line on her podcast, but noted that she is taking time for herself right now and focusing on other ventures, including the podcast.

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