During the premiere episode of her new “Rulebreakers” podcast, Saraya announced that she has parted ways with All Elite Wrestling.
The former AEW Women’s World Champion noted that she is leaving the company on good terms.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On leaving AEW: “I’m here to tell you that me and AEW’s relationship has come to an end. I had an amazing time there. There’s no bad blood between us. I had such a magical time.”
On making the decision during her time away: “And then I got to thinking — what is there left for me to do in wrestling right now? Right now, there’s really no storylines where I would fit in. It’s just me thinking that I just don’t fit in right now. I feel like I might be taking someone else’s spot, someone who could be doing something really special.”
On a possible return later on: “That’s not to say I will never come back to AEW — I absolutely love it. But I’m taking a little step back and focusing on myself for a bit, and putting my energy into the podcast with all the crew here. What a wonderful crew I have here.”
On Tony Khan and the locker room: “Thank you, AEW. Thank you to the AEW fans — I loved my f—ing time there. Tony’s f—ing awesome. And anyone that goes to work there will just enjoy their time. It’s just great. And I’ll miss the girls’ locker room. I’ll miss you, but don’t be a f—ing stranger! You know where I am. I see some of you outside the company anyway.”
Saraya also appeared on the “Busted Open Radio” podcast to discuss her AEW exit, highlighting CEO Tony Khan’s role in the decision.
On September 21, 2022, Saraya made her AEW debut at Grand Slam in Queens, New York.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On her goals in AEW and why she left: “When it came into AEW, the thing that I wanted to do was just to…help build stuff. I didn’t want to be the top dog or the face or anything. That wasn’t my…that’s not what I wanted. What I wanted to do was put girls over, if that helped them in any way. That’s all I wanted to do. And I feel like I was coming to the end of that. There wasn’t very much left I could do. I don’t think there was a place for me anymore in there.”
On how supportive Tony Khan was to her: “He was really great. He was like…he’s been so supportive since I asked for time off in November. I’ve been gone for a minute. And I was just like ‘Well, there’s really no place for me anymore.’ So yeah, we came to that decision, and I’m happy about it. And he wished me luck and everything, and the door is always open. But yeah, it’s nice to just…it’s scary, but I’m taking…I’m exploring everything else outside of wrestling.”
During a recent appearance on the “B4 The Bell” podcast, Saraya discussed her future in wrestling now that she has parted ways with AEW.
Saraya noted that she is taking a break to explore new opportunities this year.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On if she still has milestones she wants to reach in wrestling: “Sure. Yeah, I mean, there’s still a lot left in the tank. It’s just, I just don’t think there’s room for me for right now. Right now, yeah. Everyone in AEW is doing amazing. Everyone’s killing it. Why would they try and squeeze me in at any point right now? I’d rather sit at home than in catering too, you know what I mean? [Laughs] So that’s the thing. I know there is a lot left on the table.”
On wanting to take a step back: “Maybe…my contract is coming to an end, and I kind of just want to take a step back from wrestling for a little bit and focus on everything outside of it. That’s not saying no, I’ll never come back to it. It’s not saying I’m giving up on wrestling forever. I love wrestling. Wrestling’s my life. I love it. I just want to focus on acting and this book and this podcast and these other things that I have in the tank right. 2025’s just going to be the year of Saraya, the non-wrestling side of her, I think. I think it’s really important to do that, take a little breather from wrestling.”
