Paige Steps In For Nikki Bella To Make In-Ring Return At WWE WrestleMania 42

After reports emerged earlier in the week, Paige officially made her return to WWE at WrestleMania 42 to take the place of the injured Nikki Bella. Paige returned to tag with Brie Bella in the four-way match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships, a bout she and Brie ended up winning.

As the Bella Twins' music hit, Nikki came out on a crutch to confirm that she was not medically cleared after suffering an ankle injury on an episode of "WWE SmackDown." She said she wasn't going to ruin her sister's WrestleMania moment, however, and confirmed she "called an old friend," bringing out Paige.

On Friday, PWInsider reported that the former Saraya in AEW was headed back to the company. BodySlam+ confirmed PWI's report that Paige had inked a new deal, also reporting it was for multiple years.

Paige suffered what was then believed to be a career-ending neck injury in WWE in 2017, but stayed with the company until summer 2022, despite not being able to get medically cleared by WWE doctors. She signed with AEW in September 2022 and got physical for the first time in years that October. She went on to confirm she was medically cleared and won the AEW Women's Championship at Wembley Stadium in August 2023.

She departed Tony Khan's company in March 2025 to focus on projects outside of wrestling. After a few months, however, the former AEW Women's and WWE Divas champion spoke about getting the itch to wrestle once again, and resumed her in-ring training in early 2026.