WWE News: Paige opens up about overcoming adversity and returning to WWE
What's the story?
Paige is back in WWE but it took a road to get there. The leader of Absolution spoke with clarity to Lillian Garcia on Chasing Glory, discussing her slip into drug use and subsequent comeback thanks to WWE's supportive family atmosphere.
In case you didn't know...
When Paige and Alberto El Patron became a couple and some people started to notice a change in the first-ever NXT Women's Champion. She was soon taken out of action due to a neck problem and then suspended for two violations of WWE's Wellness Policy.
Soon, Paige found herself off of Total Divas. She later re-emerged as the leader of Absolution on the Raw after Survivor Series.
The heart of the matter
Paige spoke to Lillian Garcia concerning the subject of her drug use. The Anti-Diva said she first tried drugs at a rock concert when she was fifteen-years-old and didn't even like them because she didn't feel like they did anything.
As Paige continued to tell her story, she revealed her drug and alcohol use became a replacement for a childhood lost due to years of pro wrestling. She spoke about getting into a relationship with Alberto El Patron (although she didn't name him specifically) and how she had to endure the internet backlash due to this as well. Then she failed two WWE Wellness Policy tests and wasn't seen on WWE's radar for a while.
She admitted the first failure was because she didn't submit it in time but took responsibility for the failure of the second test. Thanks to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
"It's not even good, I didn't even enjoy doing it. I didn't enjoy doing drugs. It was wild to me, but you just get caught up in this lifestyle it's like whatever, this is me -- you know? No, it's not me -- no it's far from me. You know I am not that person. I'm that person when I was 15 going, 'this sucks' but I just wanted to be cool. You know what I mean?"
Paige had nothing but glowing words to say about WWE and how they treated her. Even though they refuted her after Paige tried to say she failed for having a prescription medication in her system by saying they were illegal drugs, she saw this as the wake-up call she needed. Paige said she was never addicted to the drugs because she quit on her own, but WWE's support system was still unwavering.
"They helped me, they're still helping me now. Like I get to do therapy, they're like a big family"
Paige credited Mark Carrano for calling often to check on her and Rosa Mendes for helping her find a therapist to help deal with some of these issues as well. It seems Paige is more than happy to be back in WWE and said she doesn't know why she had such a bad attitude toward her job before because WWE has always treated her so well.
"WWE is like a big family and you don't realize that until you step away from it and come back."
What's next?
Paige has a lot ahead of her in her career. Perhaps she will lead Absolution all the way to her first Raw Women's Championship sooner or later? but that is probably just one small goal for Paige to check off on her way to greatness in this business.
Author's take
It's great to hear Paige speak about the events that troubled her so much with much clarity in retrospect. Afterall, hindsight is 20/20 but for Paige, she can see all the mistakes and own them completely.
She's learning from them too which is a very important thing. After all, she's young enough to have a long career ahead of her. Let's just hope she's able to remain as focused as she seems today.
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