Saraya has candidly opened up about a difficult period during her time in All Elite Wrestling, revealing that she briefly lost her passion for professional wrestling while with the company.
Saraya, who competed in AEW from 2022 until early 2025 and held the AEW Women’s World Championship during her run, discussed the emotional toll of that period while appearing on Wrestling with Freddie. She admitted that despite enjoying AEW overall, creative frustrations left her feeling unfulfilled and, at times, miserable.
“I’m taking wrestling so seriously. I lost my passion for it for a second. I kind of fell out of love with it, and it was kind of making me miserable at one point,” Saraya said. “I feel like the company I was in — I loved being in AEW. I had so much fun. But, the character I was doing, I wasn’t too happy with, and I wish I could have done certain matches and certain things, and it didn’t come to be, and it’s fine.”
Saraya emphasized that her comments were not meant as a knock on AEW as a whole, but rather an honest reflection of how disconnected she felt from her on-screen presentation and unrealized creative goals. That disconnect ultimately led to burnout and a temporary loss of love for the business.
However, that chapter now appears firmly in the rearview mirror.
Saraya revealed that she is once again motivated and focused on returning to the ring in the best condition of her career. Drawing inspiration from her iconic run as Paige in NXT, she expressed confidence that she can surpass even that version of herself.
“But, yeah, I just kind of fell out of love with it and so now, I’m just like, ‘I need to start training again. I need to get my ass back into shape. I need to be the Paige that I was in NXT but better,’” Saraya stated. “I can do it at 33 still. I still got it.”
She also clarified that her recent training efforts were not tied to a surprise Royal Rumble appearance, but instead part of a longer-term plan to fully recommit to wrestling.
“I do wanna come back to wrestling, I do wanna start getting in the swing of things again and if I was to come back, I’ll be better than you’ve ever seen me. I can promise you that,” she added.
While Saraya has not announced where or when her in-ring return will take place, her comments signal renewed confidence and hunger—suggesting that the next chapter of her career could be one of her strongest yet.
