"I was in love with you" – When Saraya (aka Paige) confessed her feelings for 6-time WWE Champion
Saraya (aka Paige) was a wrestling fan growing up. While she looked up to former Women's Champion Bull Nakano and WWE Hall of Famer Lita, she had a crush on Stone Cold Steve Austin.
During an episode of Austin's podcast in 2015, the former Divas Champion confessed her feelings for the Hall of Famer, stating that she was "in love with him" when she was a teenager.
"I was like in love (...) I'm gonna embarrass myself. I was in love with you. Like I loved. I was like this guy is awesome like, am I embarrassing myself?" she said. [14:19 - 14:26]
The 30-year-old explained to the Hall of Famer that she was obsessed with him and his on-screen character.
"I was obsessed with you. I have, I have, you and actually I loved Rikishi. Like you two were my favorites. You because it was mostly your character. I was just so cool when I was growing up. (...) The fact that you didn't change your character whether you were heel or babyface and that's something I really looked up to," she added. [13:32 - 14:04]
Saraya and Austin never crossed paths in the Stamford-based company. During a Q&A session a few years ago, however, she disclosed that she dreams of having an intergender match against The Texas Rattlesnake.
A former Women's Champion recently praised Saraya for turning her life around. Check out her comments here.
Saraya joined AEW following her departure from WWE
After competing for a few years on the European independent circuit, Saraya signed with WWE in 2011. The English wrestler spent about 11 years in the Stamford-based company, during which she held the NXT Women's Championship and the Divas Title. Last July, the 30-year-old left the company.
About two months following her departure, Saraya made her AEW debut at Grand Slam. Last November, she announced that she was finally cleared to compete after nearly five years of in-ring retirement. Later that same month, she defeated Britt Baker at Full Gear in her first match since 2017.
Saraya detailed WWE's backstage reaction to her match at AEW Full Gear. Check out her comments here.