Saraya Reacts To AJ Lee's WWE Return & A Potential Frenemies Reunion

You'll be hard-pressed to find many wrestling fans who are not genuinely thrilled to see AJ Lee back in a wrestling ring, and that goes double for her current and former colleagues.
One of Lee's greatest rivals, and eventual on-screen best friend, Saraya, was a guest on Busted Open Radio Wednesday afternoon. Naturally, the former WWE and AEW Women's Champion is over-the-moon to see AJ back in WWE after a 10-year absence, but she was asked whether this comeback has fired up her own ambitions to step back into the squared circle.
"I’m always gonna have that feeling, because WWE is doing amazing things right now," Saraya said. "I miss being in the locker room, I miss being around people like [Natalya]. I miss being around my sisters and I miss being a part of these things."
Saraya departed AEW earlier this year and has often expressed an openness to returning to WWE at some point down the line, but she's also said that she wants to spend the rest of 2025 away from the ring to pursue other projects.
That hasn't stopped the woman formerly known as Paige from keeping up with the product. She admitted to the Busted Open panel that she has repeatedly watched AJ Lee's return from last Friday night on SmackDown. A big smile on her face each time, no doubt.
"She’s my fairy godmother dude. I love her so much. She’s the one that kind of took me under her wing when I first came up on the [main] roster."
With her frenemy back in the fold in WWE, Saraya says fans have now kick-started an online campaign to bring Paige back as well.

"My social media has not stopped. It has blown up. I cannot go on there without hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people doing videos being like, ‘Please bring Saraya back, please bring Paige back,’ and I get excited because I keep forgetting — I feel like people don’t like me anymore."
And that outpouring of support has gotten the better of her a few times. She says it's been an emotional couple of days.
"I have shed some tears about it because I’m like, ‘Oh my God, people still like me and they still want me to be around’ and that’s probably the best feeling in the world for me. I get insecure about these things… With A.J., I would love to be her tag partner again or run it back eventually. I’m not saying right away. She needs her moment; people are excited for her to come back. Maybe one day.”

AJ Lee will wrestle her first match in over a decade when she teams with her husband, CM Punk, to take on Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch in a Mixed Tag Team Match at WWE Wrestlepalooza. The inaugural Premium Live Event will stream live on ESPN DTC on Saturday, September 20 starting at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT).
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Rick Ucchino is the Assistant Editor & Content Coordinator for The Takedown on SI. He also works full-time for 700WLW Radio in Cincinnati, Ohio as a local news and sports anchor, in addition to his time covering the Cincinnati Bengals for Sirius XM. Rick has been on the professional wrestling beat since 2019, having provided coverage for a number of outlets, including Fightful, SB Nation’s Cageside Seats and the Bleav Podcast Network. With an educational background in theater, creative writing and journalism, Rick focuses primarily on the storytelling aspect of pro wrestling, but he’s no stranger to the squared circle himself. He had the privilege of training with former WWE & WCW cruiserweight Jimmy Wang Yang for nearly two years and retired early due to back issues with a perfect 1-0 record in singles competition. Rick is a married father of two incredibly adorable children, who are budding pro wrestling fans themselves. Much to the chagrin of their mother. You can reach Rick at rwucchino@gmail.com