Former WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and former Talent Relations head John Laurinaitis reportedly passed on renewing Saraya’s contract when it expired back in the summer.
A new report from Fightful Select notes that Saraya, formerly known as Paige, found about her WWE release when she announced it publicly on June 10. She was then a free agent of July 7 as the contract expired. It was noted that Saraya’s WWE contract was surprisingly low, and many of her outside projects were restricted to some degree.
It was also said that while Saraya was on the shelf for most of her last five years with WWE, there were “some confusing messages sent regarding about her physical status, ability to wrestle, and the way that things went down.”
The new WWE regime reportedly offered Saraya the role of General Manager. The offer was made about a month after her deal was not renewed. Saraya worked an authority role on SmackDown a few years back.
With the offer made by the new WWE regime, Saraya was reportedly told that if she ever wanted to return to in-ring action, the company would help make that happen. There had been rumors on WWE getting Saraya multiple doctors to get her medically cleared, but word now is that these rumors are not true, to the extent that WWE did not have her checked at all for a return to the ring. Furthermore, Saraya actually went through three extensive health checks herself to gain clearance for an in-ring return.
WWE reportedly was not interested in bringing Saraya back before the new regime took over, and they would not sign off on X-rays to have her examined. The case of the former WWE Divas Champion wrestling again was said to be closed far as the old regime was concerned.
WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H and his regime did make efforts to get Saraya back into the mix, and word is that there is a positive relationship between the two sides. Triple H was said to be shocked when Saraya’s deal was not renewed by the old regime.
It was also noted that ultimately the freedom to do outside projects without giving up a cut in pay, and other contract terms, led to Saraya going with AEW over WWE.
Saraya debuted with AEW three weeks ago at the Grand Slam Dynamite. She has reportedly signed a three-year contract, and was medically cleared to compete by AEW Ringside Physician Dr. Sampson. Saraya recently got physical in the ring, and is expected to have her first match since 2017 against Britt Baker, perhaps at the AEW Full Gear pay-per-view on Saturday, November 19 in Newark, NJ.
Stay tuned to WrestlingHeadlines.com for more.
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