After stepping away from AEW in October 2024 to focus on outside endeavors, Saraya is now revealing when she plans to begin training for a potential return to the ring. The former AEW star had spent the past year launching her podcast Rulebreakers, working on a book, and immersing herself in life beyond pro wrestling.
In an interview with the Toronto Sun, Saraya discussed how her time away affected her desire to compete again, admitting that the wrestling “bug” has returned.
“I’ve had a wonderful year to kind of dip my toe into the outside of [the] wrestling world, and it’s been so wonderful and I have loved it and I have enjoyed it,” Saraya said. “But I do—once you’re a wrestler, you always miss it….I am starting to get the bug for it again, because I went through a stage where I kind of like fell out of love with it for a second. And I’m just like, ‘I need to take a break from it.’ And that was the whole goal.”
She noted that while 2025 was intended to be focused entirely on non-wrestling ventures, the hiatus successfully reignited her passion for the sport. “But I’ve just found this new love for it again, and I found this new passion for it again,” she stated. “And I’m gonna get into training in January and we’ll see where that takes me. Because I feel like I do—if I was to ever come back, not saying I am, but if I was to ever come back, I want to be at the top of my game and be wrestling better than I was wrestling back when I was in NXT. So that’s my goal.”
To help her reach her goal of surpassing her previous peak, Saraya has reached out to a veteran WWE superstar who runs a well-known training facility. “And I’ve actually asked Natty a few times—like, she wants me to go down to the Dungeon and stuff in Florida. So I was like, absolutely,” Saraya revealed.
While she maintains that nothing is finalized, she gave fans a strong hint that her eventual return to a major promotion is increasingly likely. “So I miss it. I love it. I think the percentage of me going back is a lot higher now. But we’ll see where it goes. We’ll see where it goes. Who knows what will happen?”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit the Toronto Sun with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
