Former AEW champion Saraya reunites with released WWE star; sends a message
Saraya, more famously known as Paige, reunited with a recently released WWE Superstar at a wrestling convention. She is currently a free agent after her departure from AEW in late March.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Elayna Black, the star formerly known as Cora Jade, shared images of herself with Saraya at the WrestleVerse Fest event in Kansas City, Missouri, over the weekend. It was their first meeting as pro wrestlers, reuniting for the first time in a decade. Elayna met The Anti-Diva as a teenager, inspiring her to become a WWE Superstar.
Saraya responded to the 24-year-old star, who was released back in May amid a good run in NXT.
"My girl right there 😍❤️🔥," the former AEW Women's World Champion tweeted.
The two were not the only stars and legends present at the WrestleVerse Fest event in Kansas City. They were joined by Sting, Kevin Nash, Lex Luger, Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, Jerry Lawler, Santino Marella, Britt Baker, Tay Melo, and Sammy Guevara.
Elayna Black grew up idolizing Saraya, AJ Lee, and CM Punk
It's well documented that Elayna Black idolized CM Punk growing up, and it was used by some hateful fans to start a nasty rumor. She also looked up to Saraya and AJ Lee, who gave her the confidence to pursue pro wrestling and reach her dreams.
"Seeing somebody like AJ Lee come in and even Paige and women like that, everyone after her. (They) are the first one I saw as a kid. (AJ) was the first woman to have all this merch and none of the other women got to have that at the time and she was the first person that started to make everybody see that women can do the same stuff," Black said in an interview with Fightful back in October 2022.
Lee paved the way for many of the current crop of female pro wrestlers who would have been considered not part of the norm more than a decade ago. Her impact is still felt to this day and into the next generation.
