Paige Returns To WWE At WrestleMania 42, Replaces Injured Nikki Bella In Championship Match

WWE

Paige has officially made her return to WWE during tonight’s WrestleMania 42 night one premium live event.

The second match of the night was the Women’s Tag Team Championship four-way with Nia Jax and Lash Legend set to defend against Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Lyra Valkyria, and the Bella Twins.

However, Nikki Bella suffered an ankle injury a few weeks ago and was ruled out of action.

Replacing her in this match as Brie Bella’s tag team partner is the returning Paige in her first WWE match since 2017.

Nikki Bella announces PAIGE as her WrestleMania replacement!pic.twitter.com/85XzoO3Wq0

— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) April 18, 2026

Paige was with WWE from 2011 to 2022, the last few years of which saw her ruled out of action due to injury.

She then joined AEW whose doctors cleared her to wrestle, returning to the ring for a run until March 2025.

She is now officially back in action in WWE at WrestleMania, and she’s one half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions as she scored the win for her team pinning Alexa Bliss.

Paige and Brie Bella are now the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.

Is Paige Returning To WWE The Right Move

Paige’s WWE departure in 2022 was somewhat unceremonious, but it was always clear – and she made it known – that it was a decision made by the previous management team, not the one that’s in place nowadays.

She and Triple H have always spoken highly of each other and pointed out that the door has always been open for her to make a return.

Now that she’s evidently cleared to wrestle, she can have some true dream matches with multiple generations of women’s wrestlers, whether it be fellow stars of the Divas era like AJ Lee and the Bella Twins, the generation that followed – some of whom she did get to have matches with the first time around – with names like Bayley, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, as well as much younger stars on the roster who would have been inspired by her, like Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez.

Also, the current WWE regime and environment likely means she’ll be able to continue with her outside projects, at least to some extent, which she wouldn’t have been able to do previously, so that’s another positive outcome.

All in all, WWE gains a star and Paige gains a place for to be a star, so this seems like a win all around.

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• wwe
• WrestleMania
• paige
• bella twins

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