On October 12 it was announced that Renee Paquette had officially signed with AEW. She made her debut on AEW Dynamite that night, welcoming the Toronto crowd to the show.
Paquette had been away from wrestling television since WWE SummerSlam 2020 when she left WWE to pursue other projects.
Speaking to Vickie Guerrero on Excuse Me, Paquette confirmed she had been talking to WWE before eventually signing with AEW.
"I had been talking to WWE, that had gotten leaked out before I debuted with AEW, I had been having conversations with WWE about all the things they have going on over there. The more I was thinking about it and figuring out what that looks like and what the future looks like, I was like, 'No, I want to be in AEW.' I want to be part of this company that is growing and developing. I want to help. I want to help lend whatever knowledge I have in this space to make things good, I want to do a good job, I want to be on the road with my husband, that makes life easier. It was more so that and it was more conversations Jon and I were having. That was one of those first big moments, 'We have to make a decision as a family.' Not that I can't do what I want, if that's what I decided to do, it would have been fine, but you have family conversations about what makes the most sense for everyone," she said.
Fightful Select reported on October 8 that WWE sources believed Paquette would be headed to AEW.
She continued, "There was that sparkle in my eye. I love the way...even my time now having spent in AEW and being able to work there, I love being able to collaborate with people, I love doing the backstage segments and talking to Sonjay, talking to different talent, talking to Don Callis. It's fun. It's fun trying to figure out what those things are rather than just being handed a piece of paper and go and do that. That's fine too, I enjoyed that for many years, but it's fun being able to do it this way."
Paquette has been used in a variety of roles since joining AEW including doing interviews backstage, in front of the crowd, and hosting sitdown segments.
After signing with AEW, Paquette provided more details on her decision. You can find her full comments by clicking here.
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