Saraya Shares Doctor's Note About Her Spine Ahead Of AEW Full Gear
Saraya has a clean bill of health from her physician that will enable her to return to the ring. The AEW star shared an undated letter on Twitter from Dr. Robert Watkins Jr. of Watkins Spine in Marina del Rey, California, that declared, "Patient is cleared to wrestle with no restrictions."
"Printed and framed this," Saraya added.
Printed and framed this. pic.twitter.com/xFfsv6WVuN
— SARAYA (@Saraya) November 10, 2022
On the November 9 broadcast of "AEW Dynamite," Saraya announced that she was cleared to wrestle, and that her first in-ring challenge in AEW will be a November 19 bout against Dr. Britt Baker during the "Full Gear" pay-per-view.
"A couple of weeks ago, I underwent MRIs and X-Rays, and unfortunately — for Britt — I'm 100 percent cleared," Saraya said. "AEW is my house!"
Saraya went into an early retirement in 2017 after suffering a neck injury while working as Paige in WWE. Her visibility within WWE diminished after leaving the ring — she was briefly the general manager of "Smackdown" and as the manager of the Kabuki Warriors tag team, but later recalled that she "ended up sitting in my house for three or four years" while WWE opted not to involve her in on-camera activities.
After her contract with WWE expired in July, Saraya made a dramatic return to wrestling in September during the Grand Slam edition of "Dynamite" –- her appearance before the audience at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City brought a tremendous ovation. Since then, she has appeared in AEW telecasts but has yet to return to the ring.