While she has since found success in AEW, Paige looked to have completely finished wrestling after her last match in WWE.
Paige was one of the most important female wrestlers in AEW history. Her match with Emma at NXT Arrival changed women’s wrestling forever, and she was rewarded for that by winning the Divas Championship on her debut match in the WWE.
However, just three years later, she wrestled her final WWE match. Paige’s last match in the WWE took place at the end of 2017, at a house show match that nobody envisioned would be her last outing for the company.
Paige’s last match in the WWE was at a house show in Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, on the 27th December 2017.
Saraya teamed with her Absolution teammates, Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose, to take on the makeshift trio of Sasha Banks (AEW’s Mercedes Mone), Bayley and Mickie James. This wasn’t a new match. It took place on previous live events, and two episodes of Monday Night Raw in a row.
Despite being a live event and not broadcast on TV, some footage of the match is available on YouTube. Sadly, that footage shows the kick that forced Paige to retire from wrestling.
There was no winner to this match, both figuratively and literary.
The referee declared it a no contest, as Paige could not continue. Sasha Banks hit a jumping dropkick from the corner, directly onto the neck of the Englishwoman. Paige fell to the ground, but got to her feat and tried to continue.
She stumbled around for a bit before collapsing again. The referee made an “X” sign with his wrists – the universal sign for an injury in wrestling – and the match was called off.
Paige suffered a neck injury that would be much worse than anybody could have imagined.
The Injury Forced Paige To Retire
The neck injury was worse than first feared. People were expecting Paige to return ASAP, hopefully back in time for WrestleMania. However, time passed, and no news came out about her potential return.
She did appear at WrestleMania that year. Paige sat on commentary for the 20-woman battle royal on the pre-show, staying largely silent while Bayley won the match.
The next night, it all became clear.
Paige announced her retirement on the Raw after WrestleMania 34. It explained her lack of interest in the women’s match the night before, and ended her career at the tender age of 25.
She was made the Smackdown General Manager just a few weeks later, keeping on screen for the next few years. Paige also managed Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville, as she had teamed with in her last match prior to retiring.
Eventually, the company decided that they had nothing for Paige to do. Her contract expired in the summer of 2022, with no attempt on the part of Vince McMahon to renew with her.
With her retirement no in its fourth year, her prospects of wrestling seemed low. The company would not clear here and didn’t want her in a non-wrestling real. Paige’s WWE career was over, over four years after her final match in the company.
She did return to the ring later that year. Paige signed for AEW, debuting at AEW Grand Slam 2022 to confront Britt Baker in the ring.
She wrestled Baker in her debut match in AEW, and her first for nearly five years.
Since then, she has wrestled numerous matches, even winning the AEW Women’s Championship in front of her family and 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium at AEW All In 2023.
