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What's the story?
Jim Ross, the legendary wrestling announcer, recently posted a blog entry on his official site where he stated that he was happy to see Paige return to the Performance Centre. The WWE Hall of Famer gave an endorsement of the former Divas Champions' talents.
In case you didn't know...
Paige, whose real name is Saraya Jade-Beavis, has been on a hiatus since being drafted to Monday Night Raw in July 2016. On 17 August 2016, Paige was suspended 30 days for after violating the company’s wellness policy. She later explained that she had not failed a drug test, but that the suspension was due to a procedural issue.
The heart of the matter
Jim Ross posted a couple of days back on his blog Jrsbarbq his thoughts on the news of Paige returning back to the WWE Performance Center.
Happy to see WWE's Paige back in the Performance Center getting ready to make her return to the ring on the main roster. The talented, young Brit has too much talent to not be fully invested in the WWE which can feature her skills better than any promotion on the planet. Plus, earn Paige the most cash.
Paige has been off WWE television for more than a year now. In September 2016, Paige revealed that she would be undergoing neck surgery and would not be wrestling for an undisclosed amount of time.
After her initial suspension of 30 days in August, she was suspended again for her second violation of the wellness policy; this time for 60 days. Paige even tweeted:
"Same shit different day. Kids..Please don't get prescriptions or doctors notes. Not acceptable"
Her father released a statement saying she had been prescribed medication for her neck injury. However, WWE issued a statement which implied that she had tested positive for an illegal substance, not a prescription drug. On 19 October, she underwent successful neck surgery.
But now Paige has undergone rehabilitation after her neck surgery and is back at the performance center working towards getting cleared by WWE to return to the ring.
What's next?
There are reports that a storyline is in place to bring Paige back to TV and she is “tentatively” scheduled to come back on SmackDown Live. She is currently a 'free agent'.
Author's take
The fact that WWE has been so vocal about her workout and return is likely a sign the company thinks she's not far away from stepping back into the ring. It wouldn't make much sense to start building hype for her comeback if officials still thought it was months away.
Survivor Series is a good spot to bring her back as the pay-per-view will likely feature a brand-against-brand battle.With Asuka set to join the Monday Night Raw roster, perhaps WWE believed the blue brand needed the depth and Paige is a right fit to achieve that.
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