Paige is back.
At Saturday’s Night 1 of WrestleMania 42, “The Anti-Diva” had her first WWE match since her stunning retirement in 2018. She replaced an injured Nikki Bella to tag with Brie Bella, and they won the Women’s Tag Team Championships.
While that made for a nostalgic moment for fans of the Divas era, some are unhappy that certain stars had to be sacrificed to accommodate Paige. Here are two alternate ways in which she could have returned.
Once upon a time, Paige managed the Kabuki Warriors. Then that partnership ended with mist on her face, courtesy of Asuka. Six and a half years later, Asuka has been mistreating Kairi Sane. Now, imagine this scenario.
It is Asuka vs. Iyo Sky, as had been originally planned. Kairi Sane is the special guest referee. At some point, Asuka gets a near-fall and starts complaining, even nearly putting her hands on Sane. Sky looks to attack from behind, but Asuka dodges, and Sky accidentally hits Sane.
Asuka capitalizes and lays out Sky, but there is no referee to count. She goes to the outside and looks to grab a chair, but Paige stops her. The two argue, then come to blows. Paige gets the upper hand and lays out Asuka, getting her belated revenge for being betrayed. She throws Asuka back into the ring, where Sky and Sane have recovered. Over the Moonsault, Sane counts to three.
This would have satisfied many parties. It keeps all three joshis on the card while reintroducing a fan favorite into the mix using past history.
Right after Paige won the Women’s Tag Team Championships, another stalwart of the Divas era competed, as AJ Lee defended the Women’s Intercontinental Championship against Becky Lynch. It did not go well, as she lost via Manhandle Slam.
It is a shame that Lee’s reign ended there, because she has more to give during this run. In an alternate scenario, Lynch, having failed to put away Lee, tries to cheat, but Paige reemerges to stop her. They get in each other’s faces, then Lynch strikes down Paige, only to be met with a Black Widow upon reentering the ring.
Lee moves on to other challengers, while Lynch moves into another non-title feud.
It is a shame that Paige did not get a proper run during the post-Diva era. Her 2018 career-ending neck injury is one of the most unfortunate in wrestling, especially as she was finding her stride as the leader of Absolution.
While Paige has reinvented herself since then as a manager and character, a small portion of her fanbase still wants her to wrestle more often. What happened on Saturday was definitely a start, but it did not have to come at the expense of others who have worked hard to deserve a spot…
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