"I was worried" – WWE Legend reacts to Paige VanZant's in-ring debut at AEW Double or Nothing
Wrestling veteran Gangrel recently shared his thoughts on AEW star Paige VanZant's in-ring debut. He spoke very highly of his pupil.
Since signing with the Jacksonville-based promotion in March 2022, the former UFC star has been training at Gangrel's wrestling school. Her in-ring debut came at Double or Nothing when she teamed up with Scorpio Sky & Ethan Page to beat Sammy Guevara, Frankie Kazarian, and Tay Conti.
On the Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Gangrel said he was worried about how VanZant would do as she didn't have much training going into the match. He added that she's extremely talented and has what it takes to be a long-term star:
“I was a little concerned because the amount of time she trained for a match, I was worried. I suppose it was 50/50 on that. I didn’t see it live or anything, I only saw clips. But I was very concerned. She has a lot of talent, I think she can be a long-term star. She really is good at everything she does. She’s super athletic." (H/T: WrestleZone)
Wrestling veteran Konnan also spoke about AEW star Paige VanZant
Former WCW star Konnan was quite impressed by VanZant's performance at Double or Nothing.
Speaking on the Keepin' it 100 podcast, he said the former UFC star was better than he expected her to be. However, he did bring up a point in the match where he felt she wasn't up to the mark:
"Paige looked way better than I expected, except for this one spot where she took down Tay. She ground-pounded her with elbows, which looked super weak and they had to go to a wide shot. But in general, she did good."
A singles match against Tay Conti seems like the next logical step for Paige, as they've been in each other's crosshairs for quite some time. However, one can only speculate on when that bout will take place.
Paige VanZant has had a good start to her AEW career. It'll be interesting to see if she can live up to her potential.
You can check out the results for AEW Rampage here.