Paige on the Kick That Ended Her Career: ‘It Was Never Sasha’s Fault’

Just weeks after returning from year-long absence due to neck surgery, Paige suffered an in-ring injury that would force her to retire from wrestling in April. However, it was clear the moment Sasha Banks‘ kick landed, Paige’s career was in jeopardy. But despite the accident, Paige has nothing but love for The Boss.

Since leaving the ring for good, Paige has stated she believes she came back too soon from her surgery. Paige’s yearning to return to full strength may have shown up in many areas, but on the night of her injury, it came in the form of directing Banks to deliver a dropkick to her back. In an interview with GiveMeSport, Paige detailed the moments leading up to her injury and the terror that followed.

“The thing is with me, right, that move where she kicks me in the back, I had taken that so many times previously that I was so stubborn and I thought ‘I can still do these kind of things’ and I thought my neck was just as strong as it was before, but, unfortunately, it’s not,” said Paige.

However the moment Paige was hit, it was painfully obvious something had gone wrong.

“So I called this move and I told her to do it and so she did it, and unfortunately, my neck wasn’t strong enough and it snapped all the way back and it was essentially the same as having a really bad car crash – the whiplash was.” Paige continued, “My arms start losing the feeling and then I’m like ‘oh my gosh, I can’t feel my arms!’ and I’m trying to grab her [Sasha’s] legs and she’s like ‘you need to stop’ and I’m like ‘no, no, no. Wait, I can stand up, let me do this’ and so I stand up, but then I fall straight back down and I’m like ‘oh my gosh, I can’t feel my body right now, this is crazy and I was so petrified I was like ‘I think I’m paralyzed.’”

After the incident, a chunk of the internet pointed their fingers at Banks for an errant kick. But Paige refuses to let Banks take any blame, as it was always her idea.

“Nothing was ever Sasha’s fault,” Paige stated. “She got so much backlash and even in the ring and we were in there, people are chanting ‘Sasha sucks’ and it really upset me to hear that because it wasn’t her fault,” she said.

It would be nearly four months from that night when Paige officially retired the day after WrestleMania 34. However, Paige knew she was done well before, and having that conversation with Sasha Banks proved to be an emotional one.

“I remember just telling Sasha ‘I can’t wrestle anymore’ and she was devastated, she started crying, crying her eyes out. I was like ‘I’m so sorry’, I think it’s just a British thing to apologize!” Paige exclaimed. “But I was like ‘I’m sorry, it’s not your fault’ and she’s just been so, so supportive. She always texts me like ‘hey, how are you doing, how things going?’ you know, and she’s just always been really great,” she said.