"I was just crying my eyes out" - Major AEW star recalls how Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson gave her major opportunity prior to title win in WWE
AEW star Saraya, formerly known as Paige to WWE fans, has opened up about how she felt when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson informed her that she would be winning the Divas Championship on her first night on the main roster.
After spending nearly three years in WWE's developmental territories FCW and NXT, the latter of which where she became the first-ever NXT Women's Champion, Paige made her main roster debut at RAW after WrestleMania 30 in 2014.
She then confronted then Divas Champion AJ Lee, who proceeded to challenge her to a match where she put her title on the line to prove that she was a fighting champion. However, that backfired on Lee as Paige defeated her in less than 90 seconds.
AJ cuts an iconic promo, Paige debuts and wins the divas championship. https://t.co/zNkpxv9X9L
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast, the AEW star revealed that she found out she was going to win the WWE Divas Championship when The Rock told her in a writers' meeting shortly after finding out she was going to have a movie made about her life.
"He [The Rock] was just like, I want to make a movie on your life. And I was like, Oh my gosh, what the f*ck? Are you serious? And then he was like, yeah, and then I was just in the writers room, and tomorrow, you’re gonna debut and you’re gonna win the Divas Championship. And I was like, what? And so there’s just overrun with this emotion. And I was just crying my eyes out." [H/T Inside the Ropes]
The AEW star was only 21 at the time she found out, meaning it was very hard to keep it a secret, especially when other WWE roster members were backstage with her, as Saraya explained:
"But I went to walk out, Tamina was coming in because they’re cousins, she’s gonna go say hi. And then she looked at me like really confused why I was even in his locker room, you know, and I’m just like, crying and she was like, are you okay? And I was just like, I’m just a really big fan of Dwayne." [H/T Inside the Ropes]
Saraya will make her long-awaited in-ring return this Saturday at AEW Full Gear
It's been over eight years since Saraya burst onto the scene in WWE, winning the Divas Championship on her first night on RAW, and a lot has changed in that time.
One of the biggest changes is that Saraya is now All Elite, and has integrated herself into the AEW women's roster nicely since arriving at the Grand Slam edition of Dynamite.
However, she is yet to have a match since signing for AEW. But that will all change this weekend when she takes on Dr. Britt Baker D.M.D. at Full Gear in Newark, New Jersey.
It will be her first match since being forced to retire in April 2018 due to neck injuries, but now that she is cleared to compete, she will be eager to pick up right where she left off.
Will you be watching Saraya's return this weekend? Let us know in the comments section down below!
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