Former AEW Champ Saraya Recalls Initial Thought Process In Promotion

Earlier this week, Saraya announced her intention to leave AEW. The multi-promotional superstar has accomplished a ton in the wrestling industry while still being in her early 30's.

Saraya speaks with "Busted Open Radio" in the aftermath of her shocking announcement. She details what her intentions were when she first signed with AEW, and the reason for her departure. Her future in the industry remains unclear.

"When I came into AEW, the thing that I wanted to do was, to like, help build stuff. I didn't wanna, be like, the top dog or anything, or the face, that wasn't what I wanted. What I wanted was to just like put girls over, you know, if that would help them in any way. That's all I wanted to do. I feel like I was coming to the end of that, there was really not much left I could do. I don't think there was a place for me anymore there."

Saraya goes on to speak about a potential program with Mercedes Mone that she would've been fascinated with, but insists she wasn't interested in renewing her contract with AEW at its expiration. 

"My contract was coming to an end. I was not gonna re-sign in September, I was not gonna do it. I wanted to take a step outside of wrestling for a little bit, I have a lot going on in 2025."

The Brit gets even more candid about her AEW departure further along in the interview, nothing that she has no hard feelings towards AEW or WWE, and would consider a return to the latter in the future. 

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.