WWE Superstar Paige has been named the new General Manager of 'SmackDown' following her retirement from in-ring competition on Monday (09.04.18).
Paige on SmackDown
The 25-year-old British grappler emotionally announced on 'RAW' that her days fighting in the squared-circle are over after being told by medical experts she was at risk of permanently damaging her body following a serious neck injury incurred last year.
But fans who thought they had seen the last of the 'Anti-Diva' were in for a surprise on 'SmackDown' when Commissioner Shane McMahon announced who the new general manager of the weekly TV show would be, following Daniel Bryan's return to active competition, following his own successful rehabilitation from neck surgery.
Walking through the curtain to a deafening cheer, Paige declared: "I'm back!"
The raven-haired beauty then added: "Yesterday on 'RAW' I delivered my retirement speech and walked straight back through that curtain in what felt like the very last time and the first person to be waiting for me was you Shane. So first and foremost I want to say thank you, it really does mean the world to me so thank you."
Paige's first act as General Manager was to announce Bryan's first 'SmackDown' match since making his return at 'WrestleMania 34' at the weekend, with her pitting him against WWE Champion AJ Styles.
Paige suffered her neck injury after taking a hard double kick to her back from fellow competitor Sasha Banks during a tag-team match on the 'WWE Holiday Tour' held at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, last December. It came after she had already spent a lengthy amount of time on the sidelines following surgery on her neck for previously incurred damage.