Paige was suspended for 30 days for her first violation of WWE’s Wellness Policy on her Birthday back in August, this means that she has already been out of action for almost 20 days so WWE should be making plans for her return.
It has been made evident that her boyfriend Alberto Del Rio is not returning after sitting out his suspension because his contract comes to an end soon and he has opted not to renew it. And it seems that the only woman to hold both the NXT Women’s Champion and the WWE Divas Championship simultaneously could be set to follow him out the door.
With recent news being leaked that WWE officials threatened to fire Paige if she didn’t break up with Del Rio doesn’t bode well for the former Divas Champion.
According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, “The fact that that story is out tells me that she is probably done with the company, and if she is done with the company, well, I mean, that’s gonna be tough…they’re probably trying to manoeuvre to where she can be released and she can work elsewhere, because she is under contract for a long time, and WWE obviously would probably not want her working the entire term of the contract.”
The inaugural NXT Women’s Champion is contracted with WWE until 2019 but it seems that she could negotiate an early release from this as many female superstars have successfully done in the past.
The rumour about WWE telling Paige to break up with Del Rio or she would be fired is something that could come back to hurt the company, especially legally. It is unlikely that they would take the risk of stating that they would fire her if she didn’t break up with him, but when they were split up in the draft, it sent the message in a different way.
Meltzer seems to agree, he said: “They broke them up in the draft and that was absolutely a message, but that’s one of those things you can do and you’ve got your plausible deniability.” It’s like, ‘Well we needed him stronger here and her stronger there,’ and that’s just business. Now, you know there’s more to it than that, but that you can do.”
It’s like, ‘Well we needed him stronger here and her stronger there,’ and that’s just business. Now, you know there’s more to it than that, but that you can do.”
The current Women’s Championship picture is looking stronger than it has in a long time with Bayley now on the main roster and Sasha Banks returning to action after avoiding surgery. It is a fantastic time to be a female wrestler, but even before Paige was suspended, she was failing to feature on WWE TV.
There was speculation at the beginning of the summer that Paige was set to walk away from WWE because she was having neck and arm problems that stemmed from her Scoliosis, something she has suffered with for many years. Paige has been able to manage it to a point but more recently it has become more painful for her.
This speculation leaves many fans wondering whether or not The Anti-Diva will grace a WWE Ring again, especially since her brothers wrestling company has just announced that they have secured a TV deal, something that she could return to the UK and help with if WWE granted her and early release from her lengthy contract.
At just 24 years old, Paige has a long career ahead of her, she is one of the most talented female wrestlers that WWE has ever had and she has been one of the stand out performers over the past few years, especially during her NXT Women’s Championship reign.
WWE wont want to grant her an early release if they have any other option because she has been an asset to the company over the past three years. She has the potential to be one of the best female wrestlers of the current generation with the right guidance, but after the WWE Universe watched AJ Lee walk away from the company more than 18 months ago, this could become a similar situation and WWE will once again be forced to adapt without one of their stand out performers.
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