Paige Shares How Chance Meeting Led to WrestleMania 42 Return

After nearly four years away from WWE, Paige made her return to the company this past Saturday night at WrestleMania 42.

She stepped in as a surprise replacement for the injured Nikki Bella and went on to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles alongside Brie Bella.

Given the circumstances, the timing for her WWE comeback could not have worked out better. Paige had been on the free agent market since March of last year after she agreed to a separation agreement with All Elite Wrestling, but conversations about a WWE return did not begin until very recently.

Paige says Bunnie Xo and Jelly Roll played a role in her return to WWE

During the latest episode of Stephanie McMahon's What's Your Story?, Paige revealed that she ended up scheduling a meeting with WWE President Nick Khan after an appearance on Bunnie Xo's live podcast.

When Paige arrived at the show, she ran into Brad Slater (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's agent) and Grammy Award-winning artist Jelly Roll. After a brief conversation between the three, Slater put in a call to Khan to gauge his interest in meeting with the multi-time Women's Champion.

"A week later he flies to LA to the WWE offices there, I went and met him for like 10 minutes," Paige told McMahon. “He goes, ‘Two things — your neck has to be okay and we have to do a drug test.'"

Paige will be the first to tell you that her prior tenure with the company was a "bit of a mess," which included multiple wellness policy violations. She's currently eight years sober.

"I was like, ‘Hey, I can control the drug test.’ I’m clean as a whistle. And so I was like, ‘I don’t know how my neck’s been. It’s been a few years since I got it checked. The last time I got it checked, it was perfect. So, I’m not really concerned about it.’ And the next week I fly to Birmingham.”

To obtain medical clearance, Paige underwent a 10-hour appointment with doctors in Alabama and was overcome with emotion when they ultimately gave her the green light to return home.

Now that she's back, Paige is taking a very similar approach to her latest run with the company as her good friend AJ Lee.

“I came in this time with a mindset where I just want to be happy and have fun, because I don’t think I’m going to be wrestling after this run. I want to just enjoy my time that I have here, embrace absolutely everything, just enjoy the journey.”

Paige has reportedly signed a multi-year deal. She did tell Stephanie that she wants to take part in the numerous stipulation matches that did not exist for women prior to her neck injury in 2017, mentioning the Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber.

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