Konnan unhappy with 3-time WWE champion's AEW run; says she was "phoning it in"

Modified Apr 04, 2025 17:29 GMT

Konnan recently made some serious claims about a former WWE champion's AEW run. He claimed she was "phoning it in".

Saraya joined AEW in 2022 to a huge reaction from fans. As a result, she was pushed and quickly won the AEW Women's World Championship. However, the hype around her quickly cooled off, and she spent a lot of time away from the ring. Upon her return, she was involved in lacklustre storylines before she departed from the company.

Speaking on his Keepin' It 100 Official podcast, Konnan claimed that once Saraya's stock dropped in AEW, she was "phoning it in". He further noted that the former Divas Champion would get a pop if she returned to WWE.

"Yeah. I said it at the time that her stock dropped in AEW. She was kind of phoning it in. She wasn't really you know? And since Tony doesn't push her, Mone and others get away with it. I think that if she came back, maybe the kids won't know who she is, but everybody else will, and then the kids will probably Google her and find out who she was, and they'll probably do a nice video package. They'll know that she's somebody when she shows up, and there will be a pop." [1:26 - 2:02]

Vince Russo believes Saraya has had conversations with WWE

After Saraya announced her shocking departure from AEW, fans started speculating about her future. Many fans and critics believe that she will head to WWE. A former writer believes she has already spoken with the Stamford-based promotion.

Speaking on The Coach and Bro Live, Vince Russo claimed Saraya left AEW because she was unsatisfied creatively. He also suggested that she has had conversations with the sports entertainment juggernaut.

"When you are a creative animal, it doesn't matter how much money you are getting paid. If you're not satisfied creatively, you're gonna want out of there. And I think that's part of what happened. Creatively, Tony Khan didn't do anything with her. You know she has had conversations with WWE," he said.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Saraya.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Arsh Das