5 ways WWE can book Paige's highly speculated in-ring return
Paige was once considered to be the future of WWE's women's division. But a combination of injuries and personal issues have derailed the star's career and forced the former Divas Champion to retire from in-ring competition.
Over the past few years, Paige has had to watch the Women's Evolution from the sidelines, and she been used in on-screen authority roles instead.
It has recently been speculated that, following Edge's WWE return, Paige could be next on the list to come back despite her career-ending neck injury. Edge, Christian Cage and Daniel Bryan all returned to the ring years after they were forced to retire, so it's fair to wonder if Paige could follow in their footsteps.
Though Paige and WWE are yet to confirm that the former Champion will be able to make her return, here are five ways that the English star could return to the ring.
#5. Paige could return to feud with Sonya Deville on WWE SmackDown
Paige was once the General Manager of SmackDown before she was removed from her role by Shane McMahon.
She has since been relegated to one-off cameo appearances, as the company has been looking for something to do with the former champion following her in-ring retirement.
The inaugural NXT Women's Champion's contract is up next year, so time might be running out for her return. If the company wants to do something with Paige on TV in the coming months, a feud with Sonya Deville would be the easiest story.
Deville has seemingly taken over Paige's role as an authority figure on SmackDown. An on-screen return for Paige could easily set up a match with Deville at a pay-per-view event, and it would also pave the way for Deville's return to the ring.
Paige has been resting and recovering for more than a year, so she should be in good shape. But it might take the former champion some time to reach her peak in-ring conditioning level once again.
Deville hasn't wrestled since SummerSlam in 2020 when she lost her "Loser Leaves WWE" match against Mandy Rose. The former Tough Enough star then made her return to WWE a few months later when she was handed an authority figure role. This position has allowed her to appear on both RAW and SmackDown.
It's also worth noting that Paige was the one who brought Deville up to the main roster alongside Mandy Rose when the two women were part of Absolution. Clearly, there's plenty of history WWE can tap into here.