WWE: Biggest Winners from WrestleMania 34 Weekend in New Orleans

Paige

The weekend started off somewhat poorly and depressing for Paige. Since the end of 2017, she’s been out due to a series of injuries, and the rumor was she would never get clearance from WWE again. For anyone, that’s devastating — for a 25-year-old who has barely scratched the surface of what she’s capable, it’s even worse.

So Paige was forced to sit at the commentary table during the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, barely managing a meek, “Maybe next year,” when asked about her thoughts of missing out. The following night on Raw, she officially announced her retirement from in-ring competition in a tearful, emotional segment.

Oh, and let’s not forget the world turning her face into a meme after her introduction of a clip from the upcoming movie about her life. Not a great beginning to the weekend.

But on Tuesday night, Paige turned lemons into lemonade when Shane McMahon announced her as the new General Manager of SmackDown Live. It’s a great move for both Paige herself and the WWE as a whole. For the Anti-Diva, it keeps her active in the company, which is for the best. She was born to be a professional wrestler.

As for WWE, it shows their commitment to ensuring the physical safety of their performers, while acknowledging those performers’ desire to be an active participant. From Daniel Bryan to Corey Graves and now Paige, there’s more and more signs that WWE is moving beyond the old school mentality of ignoring potentially dangerous situations. They’re not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but things are definitely better.