Entertainment
Saraya, AKA Paige, reveals how WWE legend Edge helped her relax before epic comeback-Alistair McGeorge-Entertainment – Metro
The former Divas Champion turned to the WWE Hall of Famer for advice.
Saraya made her in-ring return last month (Picture: AEW)
Saraya has revealed how Edge helped her stay calm before her epic All Elite Wrestling debut.
The former Divas Champion wrestled her first match in five years at AEW Full Gear last month half a decade after suffering a career ending injury, and the WWE Hall of Famer was able to use his own experiences to offer advice before the big day.
She exclusively told Metro.co.uk: ‘Edge was fantastic, he was texting me just being like, “Everything’s gonna be fine, make sure you breathe”. He was there when I was walking out for my retirement speech too and helping with that, and then coming back it was like full circle.
‘He was like, “I did this too, we’re in this elite club of neck injuries, me, you and Stone Cold!” Having people that understood, and also my producer BJ Whitmer, he also is a wrestler and had a neck injury the same as mine.’
The 30-year-old star admitted having Whitmer working on her comeback match against Britt Baker was a massive help.
‘Having him as a producer – and Dean Malenko of course – really made me relax because he knew what I could and couldn’t do,’ she explained.
‘He’d make suggestions and be like, “Let’s maybe stay away from that the first match, we’ll ease into the moves”. Having a support system really helped.’
Edge returned at the 2020 Royal Rumble after nine years away fro the ring (Picture: WWE)
Her brother and fellow wrestler Zak Zodiak was a big part of that support system, as was her boyfriend Ronnie Radke, while her opponent Britt was also on hand in the buildup.
‘Britt was an angel, she’d be texting me every day and we’d be talking every show. I had my family that are really supportive, and then my friends. Obviously my boyfriend, every day that I was home, was like, “Everything’s gonna be okay, you have to relax,”‘ she laughed.
‘I was so stressed out, every little thing would end up stressing me out because all I was thinking about was the match. It was just a lot and it’s kind of hard to describe how to deal with it, because unless you’re in that position, I guess, everyone deals with it in different ways.’
Meanwhile, Saraya’s brother also provided support after the match when she tried to ‘take a second’ for herself and spend some time alone with her thoughts.
‘I asked for a separate room for after my match so I could calm down. my brother, he’s such a sweetheart, he sat outside the door to make sure no one came in and bothered me,’ she said.
‘I was blown up, but also stressed, like, “F**k!” There were knocks at the door, Zak’s like, “No interviews, just leave her”. I ended up going out and doing all these interviews, and speaking to everybody because everyone’s so sweet and supportive, giving you a hug and congratulating you.
‘There’s so much going on. Then, to be able to go home and sleep for two days – because I worked a 15 minute match and I was exhausted.’
AEW Dynamite airs Wednesday nights at 1am on Fite TV.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
MORE : Saraya, AKA Paige, reveals AEW roster’s reaction to William Regal exit and potential WWE return
Follow Metro on Snapchat
You can follow our new Snapchat show Pop Cultur’d, the go-to place for all things pop culture.
Keep up with the latest Showbiz exclusives by following Metro Showbiz on Snapchat.
And football fans can indulge in all the transfer gossip and more on Metro Football on Snapchat.
Entertainment – MetroRead More
