“Nothing was ever Sasha’s fault” – Paige opens up about career-ending neck injury

“Nothing was ever Sasha’s fault” – Paige opens up about career-ending neck injury

It’s approaching a year since the house show on December 27 when Paige suffered a neck injury after taking a kick from Sasha Banks in a six-woman tag team match. Unfortunately, that injury put an end to the former Divas champion’s career.

Many fans blamed her opponent Sasha Banks, which Paige addressed in an interview with GiveMeSport:

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

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.

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.

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’.”

‘I wanted to walk out gracefully’

Paige also reveals the emotional ringside moments after the incident as the other women in the match were crying. She said Banks never left her side.

“The girls at the side of the ring were crying, Bayley was really upset and Sasha is sitting in the corner just devastated and I couldn’t cry at first; I wasn’t in any pain I was just in so much shock and I’m just looking at these girls like ‘oh my gosh’. And I knew it, I felt it – my career was done,” Paige continued.

I remember them bringing out the stretcher and stuff like that and I was like ‘please don’t make me go out on a stretcher, that’s all I’m asking. I don’t wanna go out on a stretcher’. I wanted to walk out gracefully and I just knew I was going to get told I wasn’t going to be able to do this anymore.

So I’m finally up and walking and the crowd are cheering – they were so sweet – so I get backstage and Jamie Noble and all the trainers and doctors that we had were checking my reflexes and my body felt fine after that, it was just achy.

Sasha was there the whole entire time. She did not want to leave my side – like literally did not want to leave my side – and she was crying her eyes out. She said ‘I’m so sorry’ and I’m like ‘It’s not your fault, none of this is your fault’.”

In the interview, Paige also reveals the conversation she had with WWE’s Dr. Joseph Maroon, Banks reaction when she told her that she could no longer wrestle and so much more. Read the full interview here.

6 years ago by Wrestle Talk

Trending

Get the latest wrestling news straight to your inbox

By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from WrestleTalk