Saraya comments on potential back-up plans for her role in AEW if she hadn't been cleared to compete.
Saraya was forced to retire from the ring in 2018 after she suffered a neck injury in 2017. While she remained with WWE in non-wrestling roles for the remainder of her contract, she was determined to return to the ring some day. When her WWE contract expired in July 2022 and she subsequently signed with AEW, Saraya's journey back to the squared circle kicked into another gear. She debuted on AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, and after she got medically cleared, she faced Britt Baker at AEW Full Gear. Saraya picked up the win in her first match since December 2017.
Speaking with Chris Mueller of Bleacher Report, Saraya discussed the back-up plans for her role in AEW if she hadn't been cleared. She emphasized that she would have had a place regardless, and she named potential positions as a general manager or a talent manager as two options. However, she made it clear that she wanted to wrestle, so she focused on getting cleared.
"I was always going to have a place, whether it be behind the scenes or even kind of like a GM role or a manager. They were always going to find a position for me there. But straight out the gate, I said to Tony, 'I want to be able to wrestle.' And he was just like, 'Well, maybe we can do it where it's just tag matches. Once you get cleared.' I said, 'Nope, I want to have a singles match. That’s what I want.' And he said, “OK, well if you get 100 percent clear, then absolutely fine.' [AEW doctors] actually didn't want to clear me until they had a full rundown from an outside doctor. Just to see everyone's opinions on it. And luckily, everyone's opinions were the same. And my neck was 100 percent ready to go," Saraya said.
Saraya then reflected on her return to the ring. When asked whether she had noticed any difference in her mobility, she stated that her neck felt fine, though she was sore after the bout. She then expressed her confidence that getting more reps will be beneficial for her conditioning, as she was blown up during her match at Full Gear.
"Actually, no. I was really surprised with that. Like, my neck felt absolutely fine in the ring. And it felt fine after. But everything felt very, very sore afterward, I had to take like a three-day nap [laughs]. But yeah, I feel 100 percent. And I can go again. I feel like the more reps I get in, the better it's going to be for me in the long run. Because as much as I don't want to deep dive into a billion matches, I definitely need to get the repetition of being in matches again, so I can get my wind up. That was my nemesis in the match. I got backstage and [AEW producer and coach] Jerry Lynn said, 'Oh, your head was down a lot.' I was like, “Yeah, I was f--king blown up.' [laughs]. But Britt really took care of me too. She really did," Saraya said.
Saraya previously credited Britt Baker with "carrying her" through their promos and match. Check out her comments here.
In a previous interview, Saraya looked back on her sit-down promo with Baker. Click here to see what she had to say.
Check out the card for this week's episode of AEW Dynamite here.
