How Paige's WWE Return At WrestleMania 42 Came Together
WWE Hall of Famer Brie Bella recently revealed how Paige's surprise return at WrestleMania 42 came together.
The former Divas champion stepped in to replace an injured Nikki Bella and captured the WWE Women's Tag Team Titles. It marked Paige's first WWE match since 2017.
Speaking on the Nikki & Brie Show podcast, Brie explained the unexpected series of events that led to the reunion. The story began weeks earlier at a live podcast event in New York.
"If you were at the live podcast in New York, Becky asked me, 'Who would you pick as a partner who would you pick?' I said Saraya. Then I was like, 'Wait, we're going to start rumors and headlines.' It hadn't even been talked about. We talk to Paige all the time, but it was a joke."
Brie said they had to cut that segment from the show to avoid speculation. At the time, there had been no discussions about Paige returning to WWE.
The situation shifted when Nikki traveled to Birmingham for ankle surgery. Brie texted Paige about potentially missing WrestleMania, only to discover both women were in Birmingham simultaneously.
"Literally, Nikki is in Birmingham getting her surgery, and I text Saraya, 'I think I might be out of Mania.' I told her I was in Birmingham with Nikki and she goes, 'Shut up, I'm in Birmingham.' 'What. Nikki is getting surgery?' They were in Birmingham at the same time," Brie said.
Nikki confirmed the timing, noting,
"I think when she was flying out, I was just getting to the doctor's office. We just missed each other."
Brie told WWE creative she was willing to sit out WrestleMania if Nikki couldn't compete. When Paige learned about the situation, she committed to helping despite no official talks with WWE.
"It was interesting because she's like, 'I don't know if they'll have me. There haven't been talks.' It was a lot on her because she's like, 'Girl, I'm not even with them yet, but whatever, I'm there.' Paige always rallies with us," Brie explained. "I didn't even know it was going to work. To me, it was the stars starting to align that you guys were there at the same time."
Nikki previously revealed she fractured, sprained, and broke her ankle, requiring surgery that kept her out of the match. Paige's return allowed the tag team title match to proceed as planned at WrestleMania 42.
