Paige’s road back to WWE wasn’t just about desire, it came down to two very specific requirements from the company.
According to the former Divas Champion, WWE made it clear that any return would hinge on her being medically cleared and successfully passing a drug test.
Both would ultimately play a key role in opening the door for her comeback run.
Interestingly, Paige revealed that an unlikely name helped get the ball rolling behind the scenes.
Jelly Roll.
Speaking on Stephanie McMahon’s “What’s Your Story?” series, Paige explained how an appearance on Bunnie’s podcast led to a pivotal moment. With Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s agent Brad Slater present, Jelly Roll directly questioned why WWE hadn’t brought Paige back, which quickly set things in motion.
“So he calls Nick and within 30 minutes, Nick had said, ‘Sure, let’s get a meeting with her.’ A week later, he flies to LA to the WWE offices out there,” Paige said. “I went and met him for about 10 minutes, you know, great guy. Love him. Big fan of him. Super smart. He’s got a business brain on him.”
That meeting with WWE President Nick Khan proved to be a turning point.
Paige admitted she expected an intimidating encounter but instead found Khan to be approachable and direct when laying out what WWE needed from her in order to return.
She continued, “I thought I’d be intimidated by him. But going in there, he’s easygoing. He goes, ‘Two things — your neck has to be okay and we have to do a drug test.’ I was like, ‘Fair enough.’ I was like, ‘Hey, I can control the drug test.’ I’m clean as a whistle. And so I was like, ‘I don’t know how my neck’s been. It’s been a few years since I got it checked. The last time I got it checked, it was perfect. So I’m not really concerned about it.’ And so, the next week I fly to Birmingham.”
A lot had changed for Paige leading up to this opportunity.
She noted that she is now eight years sober, a stark contrast to her earlier WWE run where she admittedly struggled and failed two drug tests. Stephanie McMahon acknowledged there was significant concern within WWE at the time, as officials could see Paige heading down a troubling path.
When Paige made her initial return in 2017, Stephanie shared an emotional moment with her.l She told Paige she was simply glad she was still alive.
That perspective made this latest comeback attempt even more meaningful.
To secure medical clearance, Paige underwent an extensive 10-hour evaluation in Birmingham, one that ended in tears after she received the news she had been hoping for.
“It was a couple of things. The fact that my neck was good,” Paige said. “And the last time I was in WWE, my neck wasn’t, and I had to retire. And I had to miss out on all these massive things like the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, all these things I didn’t get to be a part of, even though I was part of the group that helped kind of ignite that, right? And it’s just the fact that I’m going to be okay.”
Everything finally aligned.
Following medical clearance, Paige entered into contract negotiations with WWE, ultimately leading to her in-ring return on a major stage.
She made her comeback in time for WrestleMania 42, where she teamed with Brie Bella to capture the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
