Tony Khan discusses signing Saraya to All Elite Wrestling.
The former Paige was forced to retire after a neck injury in 2017. She continued to work for WWE until her contract expired in July 2022, and she went on to sign with AEW. Saraya made her debut on AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam, and on the November 9 episode of AEW Dynamite, she revealed that she has been cleared to wrestle. She then challenged Britt Baker to a match at AEW Full Gear after the two stars had been feuding for several weeks.
Speaking with Alex McCarthy of Inside The Ropes, Khan detailed the process of signing Saraya and stated that he would have welcomed her into the company, even if she was unable to wrestle. He called the situation an ideal outcome, given her high-profile clash against Baker.
“We were very interested to have her in AEW, and she was very optimistic she could get all the clearances and really gave me her word that she was gonna be good to go,” Khan said. “To me, I didn’t wanna push her. I thought it was gonna be great to have Saraya in AEW. Look, if she’d come back and said, ‘I wanna be here. I’m not sure I can wrestle with my injuries,’ I also would have said, this is still a great home for you. I think we’d love to have a star like Saraya as a part of our wrestling company, a big wrestling star like you, even if you can’t get in the ring.
“But I think it’s worked out great. This is the ideal scenario, this kind of a great match. Plans have really fallen into place the last few months to have a big match at Full Gear this weekend like Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. versus Saraya.”
Khan went on to describe how Saraya, like other wrestlers, has had plenty of latitude with her promos as she has built interest for her match against Baker. He noted that plenty of people are supporting Saraya backstage, including people she has worked with in the past. Khan also shared his belief that Saraya is getting more comfortable in AEW.
“I think to build up her match, there’s a lot of latitude that you give the wrestlers,” Khan said. “I think she’s going out and really generating a lot of interest in the match, but she’s also getting a first-hand experience with our live crowd, which is different than other live crowds.
“You can try things out, and I think for somebody who’s come in and she’s doing great for her first month, and she’s got really awesome people in the locker room that wanna help her, in addition to a lot of friends that are people she’s worked with in the past, people in WWE that she worked with, and good personal friends who can mentor her and give her support. She keeps getting more and more comfortable with AEW.”
If you use any of these quotes, please credit WrestleZone for the transcription.
RELATED: Britt Baker: Saraya Ripped Me To Shreds And Made It Personal, And It Just Motivated Me
