Saraya, formerly known as Paige, was one of the top stars in WWE‘s women’s division at the peak of her time with the company. But she had to overcome a number of obstacles at the beginning of her run there.
Speaking on the Broad Ideas podcast, Saraya reflected on her early days in WWE. She recalled how she was told that she was not pretty enough to work there by a Talent Relations representative. (H/t Andrew Thompson of POST Wrestling for the transcription)
“I was 18 at the time, I did the (WWE) tryout and they were just like, ‘No,’ and there was a guy at the time that worked as T.R. that pretty much said I wasn’t pretty enough to be there too, which broke my heart… He doesn’t work there anymore,” Saraya said. “He hasn’t worked there for years but he said, you know, I wasn’t pretty enough to be there and I needed to lose some baby weight and all that kind of stuff. I was a kid and I was like, oh, that’s kind of hard to deal with and I tried to dress like how I thought divas should dress, right?”
Saraya On Changing Her Look
Saraya continued by detailing how she changed her look, hoping to look like how divas were seemingly supposed to dress. She then stated that she decided to be true to herself.
“So I wore color, my hair was lighter, I took my piercings out. I had lip rings and gauges and stuff and I took them all out because I was like, ‘No, I have to be a diva’ and so I felt like he saw right through that and I wasn’t being myself so maybe I wasn’t the most beautiful version of myself but you know, because I was trying to be something I wasn’t. So then, I came back like six months later and I was like, ‘F*ck em. If they can’t take me…’ I just wore all black. I wore all black, I kept my piercings in, I had all black hair and I had a little blonde piece right here.”
Saraya retired due to injuries in 2018. She remained with the company for a few years and worked in non-wrestling roles. Saraya then left WWE in July 2022 and signed with AEW. She won the AEW Women’s World Championship at AEW All In 2023, and she remains with the company.
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