Paige hasn’t wrestled a match since December of 2017 but she hasn’t given up on the possibility that she could return to the ring one day.
The former NXT Women’s Champion/former WWE Divas Champion said in June that her neck is getting stronger and she recently squatted 185 pounds.
Her tweet from June reads, “You guys I’m getting stronger squatting 185lbs again. I know it’s not a ton but it’s a big accomplishment for me who was worried to do any gym stuff because of my neck. But my neck is feeling so awesome. I’m so proud of myself.”
That tweet led to speculation that she may attempt a comeback in WWE but recent comments on her Twitch stream seem to indicate that she may be considering going elsewhere because she’s not too sure that they would want to offer her a new contract. She also revealed that her contract expires in less than a year. It was previously believed, via a PWInsider report, that she had signed a 4 year deal in 2019.
Paige said the following on a recent Twitch stream: “My contract is up in June of next year. Who knows if they would want to give me a new contract? Who’s to say they would want to? If they did, I’d love to have Twitch as a part of the contract.”
If Paige is healthy and cleared for in-ring action, it’s unlikely that WWE would allow her to keep her Twitch account when the rest of the active roster is prohibited.
As far as an in-ring return, history shows that anything is possible after a few years of not taking bumps. Edge returned to the ring last year at the Royal Rumble after being forced to retire in 2011 with serious neck issues. Christian Cage returned at this year’s Royal Rumble and he is now full-time in AEW after being forced to retire years ago because of concussion issues. Daniel Bryan is another example of someone who returned after he was told that he could never wrestle again because of concussion issues. Bryan is believed to be making his debut in AEW soon.
After her retirement at the end of 2017, WWE used Paige in various roles. She was the General Manager of SmackDown in 2018. In 2019, she managed the Kabuki Warriors but that was short lived because of Paige needing time off to get neck surgery. Paige went on to work as a contributor on WWE Backstage but she has not been used on WWE TV on a regular basis in over 2 years.
h/t to Fightful for the Twitch transcription.
