At the same arena where she debuted on the main roster and won her first Divas Championship four years ago, Paige announced her retirement on tonight’s Raw from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
Paige got on the microphone after accompanying Mandy Rose for a match against Sasha Banks and said that she had to come clean about her status. She mentioned how hard it was to sit on the sidelines at WrestleMania. But because of neck injuries, she can no longer perform as an in-ring competitor.
Paige thanked every women’s wrestler in the locker room, saying that they’ve built the division into something no one never imagined it could be. She also thanked her family, Daniel Bryan, Edge, WWE, and the fans during the speech. Though their situations are different, she said Bryan coming back from what was thought to be a career-ending injury gives her hope. She said Edge spoke to her and showed her that there’s life outside of pro wrestling.
Near the end of her speech, Paige noted that — as much as it hurts her to say it — she’ll have to “go find something else.” She concluded by referencing her debut in New Orleans, saying she loves everyone and that this will always be her house.
After returning from neck surgery last year, Paige’s final match took place just a few weeks later when she was re-injured at a house show in December. It was decided that she wouldn’t be cleared to return by WWE, but the company didn’t address her long-term future when announcing that she had been pulled from the women’s Royal Rumble in January.
At 25 years old, Paige ends her in-ring career after having been the first NXT Women’s Champion and holding the WWE Divas title twice.
