I love me a surprise debut in wrestling and Saraya showing up in AEW on Wednesday’s edition of AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam certainly came as a shock. The former Paige obviously has strong ties with the WWE – they even produced a movie about her life – and despite plenty of attention with the company over the years (the Alberto del Rio situation specifically) it never felt like she would be one to jump across the wrestling divide.
But, jump she did.
Saraya Is All Elite
There are some wrestlers that fans are just drawn to. Saraya is one of those wrestlers. The pop she got when she hit the stage was enough to give me goosebumps as the New York crowd went wild. It wasn’t Attitude Era levels of pop – nothing will be – but it was damn close.
I will go out right now and say that is the best women’s debut in the history of AEW. The surprise factor is part of that, but all the component pieces just made sense. The beat-down segment worked well with the combination of Dr. Britt Baker, DMD (who is great), Serena Deeb, and Jamie Hayter going to town on Athena and Toni Storm. That is when “Zombified” by Falling in Reverse blared out in the arena.
There was the perfect amount of time between the song hitting and Saraya walking out to build suspense. Baker’s facials were magnificent, with the blood from her crushed nose just adding to the overall effectiveness of the segment. She looked truly horrified like she had seen a ghost from the past of women’s wrestling, and it was a stunning display.
It was also perfect that there was no altercation. The five women just fell out of the ring, the heels to regroup and the faces to avoid further assault. That left Saraya – who looked awesome in a hot pink, studded leather jacket that the Legion of Doom would have been proud of – to take center stage.
Saraya/Paige is a generational talent. Her debut on the WWE main roster when she beat AJ Lee the night after Wrestlemania 30, showed WWE’s confidence in her. That was one of – if not THE – best debut for a female in WWE history, and now she can mark her card with the best debut in AEW history too.
Outside of the Four Horsewomen, no one moves the needle like Saraya. Her early retirement was a disaster, and while it is unclear what she will do on AEW TV – maybe she can come back and go ala Edge/Bryan Danielson – just having her presence on the show will matter. I’m not saying that the AEW brass needs to put Sayara and William Regal in a faction, but yes, yes they should.
I will be the first to admit I am a Saraya mark. Hell, I am enough of a mark for her to buy this tee and wear it with pride. Even if you are not a mark for Saraya, this is another shot in the new wrestling war from AEW.
Always remember folks. Pro Wrestling is Real.