It's always saddening to witness a promising in-ring career of an equally promising wrestler come to a premature end. Paige had to endure such a fate in her pro-wrestling career after having to announce an early retirement back in 2017.
However, with the inspiring examples of Bryan Danielson and Edge, the quote "never say never" makes a lot of sense if we think that Paige could make such a miraculous in-ring return. While that could be a potential scenario in the future, Paige has already left an everlasting impact in the pro-wrestling business with her in-ring career. With that said, let's take a look back at Paige's pro-wrestling career by means of pictures of her throughout the years.
9 Training & Debut
Born in a family of pro-wrestlers, Paige had the business running through her veins and had the natural talent and passion, which led her to start her training at a very early age.
Her family runs the World Association of Wrestling in Norwich, UK, while her mother owns an all-female promotion named Bellatrix Female Warriors.
Paige made her pro-wrestling debut while she was only 13-years old in 2005 when her father asked her to step in as a replacement for a wrestler who didn't turn up for the event. She continued to wrestle for her parents' promotion in her early stages mostly competing with and against her mother and brothers.
8 Independent Circuit & Having Becky Lynch As Her Manager
Paige gradually stepped out of the comfort zone of her parents' promotion and started exploring the UK independent circuit by late 2007. She competed in various small promotions and honed her craft before finding her way to the all-female promotion Shimmer Women Athletes in 2011.
It was during this period she crossed paths with her future WWE colleague Becky Lynch. Lynch was amid a lengthy hiatus following a head injury, and they used the opportunity to work together with Lynch, acting as the manager for Paige and her mother, Saraya Knight.
7 WWE Try Out & FCW
Paige received her first WWE tryout in November 2010, which didn't go as per plan. But she got another opportunity in April 2011, and this time she managed to impress the right people and signed a developmental contract with WWE in September 2011.
She got assigned to WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling and made her debut in January 2012. She performed under her real name Saraya in her first match but soon got renamed Paige, and continued to perform in FCW until WWE rebranded NXT as their official developmental brand in 2012.
6 Inaugural NXT Women's Champion
Paige became a popular superstar among the fans around September 2012, which led her to develop an undefeated streak, during which she defeated superstars like Sasha Banks, Emma, and Alicia Fox.
She entered into a heated rivalry with Summer Rae in January 2013, which resulted in the latter ending the undefeated streak in NXT. Paige then entered into the tournament to crown the inaugural NXT Women's Champion in June 2013 and defeated Tamina Snuka and Alicia Fox in the initial rounds to reach the final.
She took on Emma in the tournament finals and went on to make history by becoming the first-ever NXT Women's Champion.
5 Main Roster Debut & Divas Champion
Paige made her main roster debut on the Raw after WrestleMania 30 while still being the NXT Women's Champion. She had a confrontation with the WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee in a segment that ended with the latter putting the title on the line against Paige in an impromptu match.
Paige shocked the world at the event and defeated AJ Lee in under two minutes to win the WWE Divas Championship on her main roster debut. She relinquished the NXT Women's Championship and transitioned into a full-time superstar on the main roster.
4 The Women's Revolution
Paige defended the Divas Championship against the likes of Brie Bella, Tamina Snuka, Alicia Fox, and Naomi before dropping the title back to AJ Lee in the same fashion she won it from the latter.
She regained the title from AJ Lee at SummerSlam 2014 but lost it back to her at Night of Champions. WWE continued to feature Paige in various programs until 2015 marked the beginning of the WWE Women's Revolution.
Paige partnered up with the newcomers in Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch as Team PCB but turned on her partners after Flair won the Divas Championship at Night of Champions 2015. She went on to feud with Flair over the Divas title in the following days, which ended around mid-2016.
3 Neck Injury & Hiatus
The remainder of 2016 turned out to be testing times for Paige as she went on hiatus after sustaining a neck injury and also due to personal issues. She got suspended by WWE twice during the period for violating the company's wellness policy.
She announced that she would undergo neck surgery and that she'd be out of action for an undisclosed amount of time. Paige had a tough time coping with all the controversy surrounding her at that time, and she took her time before lacing up her boots for an in-ring return.
2 Return & Retirement
Paige made her surprise return to WWE television in November 2017 and turned heel by attacking Sasha Banks, Bayley, Mickie James, and Alexa Bliss, along with the newcomers in Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville.
Together they formed a stable named Absolution and continued to perform together until Paige hit an unexpected roadblock at the end of 2017. She sustained another neck injury at the hands of Sasha Banks in a live event, which forced her out of the 2018 women's Royal Rumble match.
She continued to manage her Absolution teammates but didn't return to in-ring action because of the severity of the injury. Unfortunately, the injury had done enough damage to her neck, thus making her unable to compete again, and she had to announce her retirement from in-ring competition on the Raw after WrestleMania 34.
1 SmackDown General Manager & Other Roles
Following her retirement announcement, Shane McMahon named her the new SmackDown General Manager after Daniel Bryan relinquished the position after getting cleared to compete. She did a decent job in the on-screen managerial role and continued to hold the position until the McMahon family took over control of Raw and SmackDown in December 2018.
She then went on to manage the team of Asuka and Kairi Sane, but that turned out to be short-lived as the Japanese superstars turned on her. Her next move was to appear as one of the regulars on the WWE Backstage show, which aired on FS1, and following its cancellation, Paige continues to work with WWE as an ambassador.