Paige has spoken out about autograph collectors approaching wrestlers while they travel after a man allegedly purchased an airline ticket to get through security and wait for her at a connecting gate in Chicago.
Speaking with TMZ Sports outside LAX this week, the WWE star detailed the uncomfortable encounter and explained why she believes autograph seekers need to respect wrestlers’ boundaries at airports, hotels and other locations away from scheduled appearances.
Paige made it clear that she generally doesn’t have an issue signing autographs for fans.
“I’m usually pretty chill about it, honestly. I’m like, whatever,” she said.
However, this particular situation concerned her because of the amount of information the man appeared to have about her travel itinerary.
“This guy bought a ticket to go through to meet me at my connecting gate, so he knew my flight, he knew where I was connecting through, and he knew what time I was landing, which is so f***ing weird. It’s too far.”
According to Paige, the man was already waiting for her when she got off the plane and had brought a large number of photographs for her to sign.
“So he’s waiting outside for me, and he has like 30 pictures, and I’m like, ‘Bro, this is really strange.’ And he was like, ‘I know, it’s weird.’”
Paige stressed that she does not blame the airline itself for what happened. She said her own belief is that an individual may have provided information about her travel plans, although she stopped short of presenting that as confirmed fact.
She suggested it could potentially involve someone working for an airline or at an airport providing collectors with information about where wrestlers will be, but Paige did not identify an airline, airport employee or the individual who approached her.
The former WWE Women’s Champion also explained that there is a major difference between interacting with fans at wrestling-related appearances and being tracked down while traveling.
“We have meet and greets, we tell you where we’re gonna be at the arenas,” she said. “Come to the arena, come to a meet and greet, but don’t turn up at my hotel, don’t turn up at my connecting gate, and even so, don’t turn up at the airport, because a lot of wrestlers hate that.”
The TMZ Sports interview followed comments Paige made on X roughly a week earlier, when she criticized what she described as “airport scalpers.”
In subsequent replies, Paige explained that because she was taking a connecting flight, she would never have entered a public baggage claim area. Anyone waiting at her connecting gate would therefore have needed to be beyond airport security.
Paige said she believes the individual intended to resell the signed photographs and potentially recover the cost of the airline ticket through those sales.
There have been no reports of a complaint or charges stemming from the encounter, and Paige has not indicated that she formally reported the incident.
The issue of autograph collectors approaching professional wrestlers at airports and hotels has been raised by numerous performers over the years. A frequent distinction made by wrestlers is between genuine fans seeking an occasional autograph and collectors arriving with large quantities of merchandise or photographs intended for resale.
Paige instead encouraged fans to attend official meet-and-greets and wrestling events, where talent are specifically made available for those interactions.
The incident comes several months after Paige made her WWE in-ring return at WrestleMania 42 on April 18 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. She replaced the injured Nikki Bella in the Fatal Four-Way match for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship and captured the titles alongside Brie Bella after pinning Alexa Bliss.
The match marked Paige’s first WWE bout since a neck injury suffered at a live event in December 2017 brought her original in-ring run to an end.
Between 2022 and 2025, she competed for AEW under her real name, Saraya, where she captured the AEW Women’s World Championship at All In: London 2023.
Now back working a full WWE schedule, Paige’s increased travel means encounters with autograph collectors at airports have once again become an issue — and she is making it clear that there are boundaries she wants people to respect.
