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AEW wrestler Saraya is officially an in-ring competitor once again. A serious neck injury forced her to retire for nearly five years. The former WWE Superstar had her comeback match against Britt Baker D.M.D., defeating the franchise star at AEW Full Gear.
It was an emotional moment for the British grappler. Despite understandably displaying signs of ring rust, Saraya showed fans that her passion and connection for the business are as strong as ever.
While the 30-year-old has set her sights on winning gold in the near future, it seems like her rivalry with Baker is far from over.
On last week's AEW Dynamite, the D.M.D. gave Saraya two tickets to the January 11 episode of Dynamite next year. She went to dare her to either attend the show ringside or confront her and Jamie Hayter in the ring.
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It was then confirmed that the duo of Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter will team up against Saraya and a partner of her choosing during the upcoming event. This has led to rampant speculation on who her partner will be. Here are five wrestlers, from current AEW stars to free agents, who would be the perfect foil for Saraya.
#5. Former IMPACT Knockouts Champion Chelsea Green
Top free agent Chelsea Green has had quite an eventful career. While she never made a huge impact on the WWE main roster, she still carved out quite a respectable resume on the independent scene.
Green was initially part of IMPACT from 2016 to 2018. She would then return to the Nashville-based promotion in 2021 up until this year, where she became the IMPACT Knockouts Champion and World Tag Team Champion with Deonna Purrazzo. In between, she had stints with Lucha Underground, the aforementioned WWE, and Ring of Honor.
While Green hasn't personally been a part of Tony Khan's reimagined ROH or AEW for that matter, her husband Matt Cardona did have a brief run there in 2020. He teamed up with former EVP Cody Rhodes in his rivalry against the Dark Order.
Could it be Green's turn to come to the rescue as a mystery partner, this time for Saraya? It would certainly be a wildcard option. Both wrestlers share the same ruthless and unpredictable style in the ring and could just bring the fight to Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter. That is, of course, if Triple H doesn't get his hands on Cardona and Green first.
#4. Former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee
AJ Lee might be retired, but her influence remains strong in the business despite a short run in WWE in the early 2010s. Just look at the likes of Cora Jade and Bayley for proof. In fact, Bayley gushed about how important Lee has been to her career in an interview with WWE commentator Corey Graves.
The former Divas Champion's career has also been a blueprint for AEW wrestlers, namely Britt Baker. During an exclusive interview with Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda, the former AEW Women's Champion revealed her admiration for AJ Lee:
"I think I would love to see AJ Lee in the ring again. She did so much for women’s wrestling and I think there’s so much more that she can do, even if she doesn’t know that there are so many girls that still look up to her, myself included." (01:18 onward)
Baker continued, boldly issuing a challenge to the retired star:
"But now I see myself on an even playing field as her, I think I could – I feel like I could be better than AJ. So, let’s get in the ring and see! I would love for her to come out of retirement, I would love for her to be in an AEW ring, I would love to possibly have a tag match." (from 01:36 onward)
Whether AJ Lee takes up the challenge is anyone's guess. Her only involvement with wrestling these days is as the Executive Producer for WOW (Women of Wrestling), which might prevent her from being involved with AEW. It's also important to mention that she is married to CM Punk, who doesn't have the best relationship with the company right now.
However, if there ever was a perfect spot for AJ Lee to make her comeback, it would be as the mystery tag team partner of Saraya. They both share a ton of history from their time in WWE. Not only did they team together against the Bella Twins at WrestleMania 31, Lee even dropped the Divas Championship to the former Paige on her main roster debut.
The chemistry is certainly there and they will be awesome opponents for Hayter and Baker, the latter having clearly made her intentions of facing the former WWE Superstar known.
#3. Former WWE Superstar Mickie James
Mickie James might be in the twilight of her career, but most fans would agree that she definitely has one big final run in her. Speaking on Busted Open Radio, the 43-year-old admitted that she thought she was going to end her career in WWE:
"Even when I went back for my last run with WWE, I think I had high hopes but zero expectations. And I thought I was going to end my career there, and I was hoping in some magical way and it didn't happen. I think that I left there feeling that maybe I wasn't that 'legend' in that respect, because I guess I just wanted to be able to go out and tip my hat and say, 'I'm happy and proud of that. I was just waiting for that.'" [01:05 - 01:44]
Instead, the former WWE Superstar has had a renaissance of sorts in IMPACT Wrestling this past year, even holding the Knockouts Championship. While it seems like that was her swansong, could James be tempted to get involved with AEW?
She could be following in the footsteps of another former TNA Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne, who has eased into a veteran role in the AEW women's division. The tag team match between James and Saraya against Hayter and Baker screams fantasy dream warfare that will excite women's wrestling fans everywhere.
#2. Former AEW Women's Champion Toni Storm
After making her debut for All Elite Wrestling on the March 30 episode of Dynamite, Toni Storm immediately became one of the top stars in the women's division.
At All Out on September 4, Storm defeated Hikaru Shida, Britt Baker, and Jamie Hayter in a Fatal Four-Way match to determine an Interim Women's Champion until Thunder Rosa returns from injury.
The 26-year-old performed admirably in that role before eventually dropping the title to Jamie Hayter at AEW Full Gear. She has since been retroactively recognized as an official AEW Women's Champion, but Storm might feel hard done by that it took the company this long to acknowledge her reign.
Her match with Hayter was excellent and it's clear that they have the potential for a long drawn-out rivalry. With Saraya and Britt locked in a bitter feud, it makes sense to put all four women in the ring and let them battle it out.
#1. Former WWE Women's Champion Sasha Banks
This is a big one! In recent months, there have been rumors about Sasha Banks (Mercedes Varnado) and her future in the wrestling business. According to Fightful Select, nobody contacted within WWE has heard about any change or update on Sasha’s status with the company.
Wrestling fans assumed that once Triple H took charge of WWE, Sasha could hash out her differences with the company and make a swift return. It was only a matter of when and where. First, it was supposed to be at Crown Jewel, then Survivor Series WarGames. Both events came and went without The Boss making an appearance.
Recently, PWInsider reported that The Blueprint will be appearing at next year's Wrestle Kingdom 17, which is a blockbuster move that signals her intention might not be to return to WWE after all.
With AEW and New Japan having a strong relationship, could this be a way for Sasha Banks to announce her imminent debut in AEW? This news has certainly fueled speculation about Sasha possibly being Saraya’s mystery partner on the January 11th, 2022, edition of AEW Dynamite in Los Angeles.
A new report from Fightful Select states that AEW wrestlers are looking forward to welcoming Sasha Banks into their locker room. It would certainly be a coup for Tony Khan's promotion.
There's also the fact that it was Banks who inadvertently injured Saraya in the first place. An initial partnership could plant the seeds for a potential feud between the two. Make this happen, Tony Khan!
