Paige has opened up about the unexpected series of events that led to her WWE return, revealing that Jelly Roll played a direct role in starting the negotiations and that Nick Khan laid out two non-negotiable conditions before any deal could go forward. Paige shared details during a new episode of What’s Your Story with Stephanie McMahon.
The road to returning to WWE began with a live recording of Jelly Roll’s Wife Bunny’s podcast, where Page was a guest along with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s agent Brad Slater. Jelly Roll used that moment to directly ask why WWE didn’t bring Paige back. That question set off a chain of events that led to a meeting with Nick Khan being arranged within 30 minutes of Jelly Roll calling.
She said, “I went and met him for about 10 minutes, great guy. I love him. Big fan of his. Very smart.” “He has a business mind. I thought I would be intimidated by him. But getting there, he’s comfortable. He says, ‘Two things – your neck has to be fine and we have to do a drug test.’ I said, ‘Fair enough.’ I said, ‘Hey, I can handle the drug testing.’
“I’m clean as a whistle. And so I was like, ‘I don’t know what my neck is like. It’s been a few years since I’ve had it checked. Last time I got it checked, it was perfect. So I’m not really worried about it.’ And so, next week I fly to Birmingham.
Given Paige’s history with the company, the personal significance of the drug testing situation was immense. During her first stint in WWE, she failed two drug tests and, by her own admission, was “a little messed up”. Stephanie McMahon said in the episode that there was genuine concern for Paige within WWE at the time, and when Paige first returned in 2017, Stephanie hugged her and said she was glad she was still alive. Paige is now eight years old.
Paige is getting medical clearance

The medical clearance side of the equation required a 10-hour appointment in Birmingham. Paige was medically disqualified from WWE in December 2017 after a match, which revealed the severity of her neck problems, leading to her forced retirement from the company. She later returned to in-ring competition in AEW in 2022, but receiving formal WWE medical clearance was a completely different process. When the results came out she was devastated.
“It was a few things. The fact that my neck was good,” Page said. “And the last time I was in WWE, my neck wasn’t right, and I had to retire. And I had to miss all the big things like the Royal Rumble, Elimination Chamber, all these things I didn’t get a chance to be a part of, even though I was part of the group that helped ignite it, right? And it’s just the fact that I’m going to be OK.”
With both conditions met, Paige entered contract negotiations and was brought back in time for WrestleMania 42, where she teamed with Brie Bella to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. Paige stepped in as a replacement for Nikki Bella, who suffered an ankle injury during WrestleMania.
#Paige #reveals #demands #WWE #return #including #drug #test
