In a recent interview with Netflix, CM Punk commented on his attitude when it comes to working in WWE and how he has a “hockey mentality.” He said,
“I don’t like being selfish, I adopt more of a hockey mentality — it’s not about the name on the back of the jersey, it’s about the logo on the front. I’m surrounded by so many talented people. I’m fortunate to have been able to do things at a very high level, and I think it’s important to always reach back and bring people with you. So, if there’s somebody on the roster that I think is phenomenal and maybe isn’t getting the right look, I will talk about them all day. I think that’s my job.”
Shotzi made her return to television on the December 10, 2024 episode of WWE NXT, coming to the aid of Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley during an attack by Fatal Influence (Jazmyn Nyx, Fallon Henley, and Jacy Jayne).
She had been out of action since February 2024 due to an ACL injury.
During a recent appearance on the “Busted Open Radio” podcast, Shotzi discussed her mindset following the injury and what it was like to make her comeback. She said,
“It’s hard. To really explain my thought process, we have to go back to before my injury. I was having really great matches on live events against Charlotte, Asuka, and Bayley. I had a good showing at War Games. Hunter put me over in the press conference. I felt like I was really getting it going. I wanted to ride that momentum. Even though I was on on the live events and being used regularly on SmackDown, I hit up [Baron] Corbin and I was like, ‘I want to get on NXT too.’ I’ve always wanted to be that superstar that was on Raw, SmackDown, the live events, NXT, and helping the generation come up. I really felt like I was on the cusp of being that. Then, the injury comes. When you get an injury, your mind goes to so many different places. ‘Is there going to be anything for me when I come back?’ You’re hopeful that when you sacrifice a limb for a company, you’re going to come back and they are going to reward you for fighting through all of that.
“I get cleared like December 5th. At that time, I’m thinking, ‘It’s December, I’m probably not going to come back until Rumble,’ which was two months away. I could not for the life of me, sit at home any longer. I text [Johnny] Russo, ‘I’m probably not going to come back to the main roster for a little bit, can I get a run at NXT and find my ring legs back?’ He was like, ‘Absolutely. We can only have you for two months and then main roster wants you back.’ ‘Great, that’s perfect. Give me a little run, put me with these girls, I want to build up Gigi and Tatum, I really believe in them.’ I thought we were killing it. I thought we were super hot and I fell in love with them. I was like, ‘Can we go to the main roster together? I have fallen in love with these girls.’ I was told, ‘You’re going to start a storyline with Chelsea [Green],’ which I was all for. Chelsea is super great. They bring me into SmackDown, they are rehearsing my entrance on the tron, and then they cut it. Then it was week after week, nothing and nothing. Then, I start to wonder, ‘Oh man, my contract is up in a few months, what is going on?’ Nobody had answers for me. That’s when I was like, ‘I’m going to cut this promo and I’m going to get answers by cutting this promo.'”
Saraya, formerly known as Paige in WWE, has called Nikki Bella her “wrestling soulmate.”
When Paige made her WWE debut, she became a symbol of change in the Divas division, acting as a key figure during the transition from the Divas era to the Women’s Evolution. Competing at a time when WWE’s female athletes were branded as “smart, sexy, and powerful,” she shared the ring with many of the division’s biggest stars.
During an AMA segment on her “Rulebreakers” podcast, Saraya was asked to name her wrestling soulmate. Without hesitation, she chose Nikki Bella, highlighting the strong connection they developed through frequent matches and storylines. She also gave a nod to AJ Lee, another pivotal figure from that era. She said,
“Nikki Bella. She was amazing, dude. Like, we were married to each other for a good amount of time. We didn’t have to go in there and plan anything. We just wrestled. It was really fun. We also knew the finish. We had to know the finish, but it was just really easy with her,” she said. “AJ was cool, but our storyline wasn’t actually a long period of time. Everyone thinks it was really long, but wasn’t. It was only like a few short months. But with Nikki, I was married to her for a minute.”
