Best Ways to Book Paige Upon Return to WWE Programming

A restart must await Paige when she returns to WWE Raw.

The former Divas champion is too valuable to continue being the low priority she has been for much of the year. In Paige, WWE has an ass-kicking bruiser and trash-talking star at its disposal.

And it will soon get its chance to present her as such again.

Up to this point, Paige hasn't been able to make much of an impact in WWE's New Era. Shortly after the Raw-SmackDown brand split, the company handed her a 30-day suspension for violating the company's wellness policy.

Soon after, whispers of her impending departure from the company arose. Rebutting those rumors, Paige issued a statement on Twitter:

The return she spoke of is on its way. 

Her suspension, which began on Aug. 18, is set to end soon. PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported, "Paige is slated to return to the road for WWE at this Monday's Raw."

WWE officials have to be happy to have her back in the fold. The Raw women's division has been far from deep without her.

As Miami Herald columnist Scott Fishman pointed out, Paige will be a valuable addition to the brand:

But how can WWE best harness her presence?

It must go back to the basics. Paige's history shows that she's at her best when she's wearing a snarl and administering kicks to the gut.

Anti-Diva Turned Antihero

Paige needs to be the women's division's badass antihero.

She has always looked most comfortable when she is most intense, when she hits hard and rolls over people. Her best days at NXT featured that version of her.

She once said in a taped promo, "I'm not here to be a Diva; I'm here to be a fighter." That's just what she has to be moving forward. No more talk of changing the system for the better, as she did in her 2015 feud with Nikki Bella. No more talk about her part in the Divas Revolution.

WWE has to instead let her battle her way into contention, one brawl at a time.

Credit: WWE.com

Paige should be a loner, a babyface with ample aggression, a warrior set on taking down WWE's villains by any means necessary. Think Randy Orton during his recent face runs.

With Nia Jax, Charlotte and Dana Brooke all playing heel roles, positioning Paige as a fan favorite would help balance out the division.

But she can't be a smiley, gung-ho character. Paige has to be Miss Hell in Boots again.

Reality-Kayfabe Overlap

Wrestling at its best has a good amount of reality blended into its fiction. Fans are left unsure how much of what they saw was scripted and how much of it was someone shooting from the hip.

Rather than ignore Paige's suspension and the recent buzz around her, WWE should embrace it.

As Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful tweeted, the company should consider handing her a live mic upon her return:

She can talk about how frustrated she has been with WWE lately. Paige could talk about officials having it out for her, of the higher-ups being afraid of her. She should be loud about her anger surrounding WWE releasing her boyfriend Alberto Del Rio last week.

The last time Paige held tight to a mic and delivered a truth-lined rant, she hit it out of the park. She tore into her friends Becky Lynch and Charlotte after the latter won the Divas title.

The fireworks that moment created should inspire WWE to let her do something similar upon stepping back onto the Raw stage. Paige's vocal skills need to be utilized, and WWE has to make use of all the recent talk about her online.

Paige vs. Nia Jax

A showdown with a titan is the best bet for Paige. A feud with Jax would allow her to showcase her brutal side and offer a narrative catalyst for a chain of destruction. 

Jax has thus far devoured her opposition. The powerhouse has overwhelmed a series of enhancement talent, and on the latest edition of Raw she sent Alicia Fox to the trainer's room.

The beast recently drafted to Raw needs stiffer competition. She needs to face someone who can give her an actual fight.

Paige can do exactly that.

WWE should build up this battle as a meeting of two powerful forces. 

Once in the ring, Paige and Jax promise to deliver matches boasting a dynamic much like Gail Kim vs. Awesome Kong from TNA. Paige can stun Jax with hard strikes and make the giant teeter, then ultimately fall to the newcomer.

Outlasting Paige would garner a good amount of momentum for Jax.

As for Paige, she should then be so enraged by her loss that she goes on a tear, wreaking havoc on the division. She can steamroll over Summer Rae and Fox as she looks to earn her way back into title contention.

Those stories will highlight her strengths and give her clear direction moving forward. That's much more than she had going for her before her suspension, when WWE seemed unsure which way to point her.

The end of her suspension and absence is a chance to right that, to allow Paige to return to the ideal version of herself.