Interview: Paige on Total Divas Helping Her Life, SmackDown GM Role, Favorite Wrestler

TV Insider held a recent interview with Paige discussing using Total Divas to help rehabilitate her life, origin of her role as SmackDown’s general manager, her favorite wrestler as SmackDown’s general manager, and more.

On the topic of using Total Divas to help rehabilitate her life, Paige stated she pitched the idea to use her own recent life struggles and rehabilitation as a way to help motivate others who are currently dealing with their own issues.

Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, any kind of abuse. With the tape coming out and everything else happening, I wanted to tell people everything.

I wanted to also take ownership for my faults. I wanted to own up to things I did and say, ‘Yes, I did do that. It sucks. I made a mistake. Here is why you shouldn’t do this or that.’ It was a great season to do that kind of stuff. I got to go to this women’s shelter. It was really inspiring. I really love this season. I just wanted to get on there so people could hear my side of the story.”

On the topic of the origin of her role as SmackDown’s general manager, Paige stated it was one of several ideas she pitched for a post-wrestling role in the WWE. She also stated it was something Vince McMahon also considered as an idea for her future in the company.

“I actually pitched the idea, too. I knew a few months back that I pretty much wasn’t going to be wrestling anymore, so I was constantly pitching ideas of what I could do. Maybe I could manage someone and be the female Paul Heyman. I was constantly pitching. I think Vince [McMahon] already had the idea to make me general manager. That was his idea.

…I’m just so happy. It was a rollercoaster of emotions over two days. WWE has been so fantastic. They still believed I should be doing something and gave me such a big role…Shane McMahon really helped me the first couple of weeks. Then he stepped down, so I could solidify my spot. I have been having so much fun. I love working with the girls and guys.”

On the topic of her favorite wrestler as SmackDown’s general manager, Paige stated The Miz as her choice.

“Any time I have a promo with him, and I like R-Truth too, but I always have the best chemistry with Miz. “We really don’t stay on script perfectly. We kind of bounce off each other…He is the one I paid attention to when it came to promos. He helped me so much along the way with backstage segments. He made it so easy that it was great.”

Other topics discussed included her career ending neck injury, her thoughts on Daniel Bryan’s comeback from a potential career ending injury, her upcoming biofilm, Total Divas, and her thoughts on WWE’s Women’s Division.