WWE Divas: Paige Goes From Tag-Team Matches With Her Mom To WWE Stardom

WWE Divas is a long, long way from where budding superstar Paige got her start in wrestling.

The 22-year-old wrestler is a rising star in the WWE and is about to become a crossover hit as well. Paige just joined the upcoming season of the reality show Total Divas, giving her some additional primetime exposure.

There’s a good reason that Paige is so comfortable in the ring. Before joining the WWE Divas, she spent six years honing her craft on the European independent wrestling circuit. Paige, born Saraya-Jade Bevis, actually made her wrestling debut at age 13 when her father, a wrestling promoter, stuck her in to replace a wrestler who didn’t show up.

Paige later teamed up with her mother (longtime wrestling veteran Sweet Saraya) for her first recorded match in the World Association of Wrestling.

The British-born wrestler has worked for the last 10 years to earn her break. After working her way through the independent circuit, Paige spent three years in the WWE development circuit before joining WWE Divas in April 2014.

Paige has already seen quite a bit of screen time in the WWE, thanks in large part to a feud with fellow WWE Diva AJ Lee.

“What I get a lot from fans, is that our feud is very much like Batman and Joker,” Lee said. “I think its really interesting because we go back and forth on who is Batman and who is Joker. After Wrestlemania you had Paige, the hero in all black leather, stopping maniacal AJ which was perfect.”

After working so long to break into the top ranks of the WWE Divas, Paige said she is excited for the additional exposure that comes with the E! reality show Total Divas.

“I’ve always wanted to do it,” she said of joining the show. “People behind the scenes always said they wanted to get me on the show because they need a different kind of Diva. The cards got moved around a little bit and they asked me if I’d take part and I said, ‘Hell yes!’ It helped because I already knew the girls, but they were all so great and they helped me through it. It was different going from WWE TV to a reality show. You have to be you and I’m not used to being me. I’m used to being Paige on TV. I opened up a lot and became myself. It was great.”

Paige has the potential to become one of the most popular of the WWE’s female wrestlers. She already ranked atop the Pro Wrestling Illustrated Female 50 list, and has held the WWE Divas Championship twice already in her short career.

[Image via WWE]