Saraya felt like there was nothing else she could do in AEW, aside from a potential program with Mercedes Moné.
On March 26th, Wesley Stenzel of Entertainment Weekly revealed that Saraya will announce her departure from AEW on the debut of her podcast, Rulebreakers With Saraya. The former AEW Women’s World Champion had been with the company since 2022, but she has been absent from AEW programming since October.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Saraya was asked to comment on why now was the time to announce her departure.
“When I came into AEW, the thing that I wanted to do was just help build stuff,” Saraya said. “I didn’t want to be the top dog or the face or anything, that’s not what I wanted. What I wanted to do was put girls over, if that helped them in any way. That’s all I wanted to do. I feel like I was coming to the end of that. There was really not much left I could do. I don’t think there was a place for me anymore in there. There was probably one more thing with Mercedes I could have done, and she was completely up for it, but the only difference is that she already has these storylines, and my contract was coming to an end, and I wasn’t going to re-sign after September.
“I was not gonna do it, I wanted to take a step outside of wrestling for a little bit. I have a lot going on in 2025, and I was just like, I have the book coming out and I have this role that I’m excited about, a big one, it’s coming up. Tthen I have my podcast. I have a lot going on, and I wanted to get my feet wet outside of wrestling for a little bit.”
Saraya On Tony Khan
Saraya then said that Tony Khan was amazing with the situation, as he was supportive of it. She stated that they made this decision, and she was happy with it.
“Tony was so amazing with it,” Saraya said. “It was mutual. He was really great, he was so supportive of it. He’s been so supportive since I asked for time off in November. I’ve been gone for a minute, and I was like, well, there’s really no place for me anymore, so we came to that decision. I’m happy about it. He wished me luck with everything, and the door’s always open. It’s scary, but I’m exploring everything outside of wrestling right now.”
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