Paige Doesn’t Blame Sasha Banks For Career-Ending Injury

Paige wants everyone to know that Sasha Banks is not to blame for her career-ending injury.

At a WWE live event on December 27, 2017, Banks kicked Paige in the back, causing a whiplash effect that rendered her unable to continue wrestling. Four months later, Paige was forced to retire from in-ring competition after damage to her neck meant she could be paralyzed if she took another bad bump.

While Paige had been suffering from neck issues long before she took that kick from Banks, this injury scare forced WWE medical personnel to stop her from wrestling. As a result, Banks has received vicious backlash from fans.

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Paige explained what exactly happened to her neck and cleared up any rumors surrounding herself and Sasha.

“Nothing was ever Sasha’s fault,” Paige began. “She got so much backlash and even in the ring and we were in there, people are chanting ‘Sasha sucks’ and it really upset me to hear that because it wasn’t her fault.

“The thing is with me, right, that move where she kicks me in the back, I had taken that so many times previously that I was so stubborn and I thought ‘I can still do these kind of things’ and I thought my neck was just as strong as it was before, but, unfortunately, it’s not.

“So I called this move and I told her to do it and so she did it, and unfortunately, my neck wasn’t strong enough and it snapped all the way back and it was essentially the same as having a really bad car crash — the whiplash was.

“My arms start losing the feeling and then I’m like ‘oh my gosh, I can’t feel my arms!’ and I’m trying to grab her [Sasha’s] legs and she’s like ‘you need to stop’ and I’m like ‘no, no, no. Wait, I can stand up, let me do this’ and so I stand up, but then I fall straight back down and I’m like ‘oh my gosh, I can’t feel my body right now, this is crazy and I was so petrified I was like ‘I think I’m paralyzed’.

“The girls at the side of the ring were crying, Bayley was really upset and Sasha is sitting in the corner just devastated and I couldn’t cry at first; I wasn’t in any pain I was just in so much shock and I’m just looking at these girls like ‘oh my gosh. And I knew it, I felt it — my career was done.

“I remember them bringing out the stretcher and stuff like that and I was like ‘please don’t make me go out on a stretcher, that’s all I’m asking. I don’t wanna go out on a stretcher.’ I wanted to walk out gracefully and I just knew I was going to get told I wasn’t going to be able to do this anymore.

“So I’m finally up and walking and the crowd are cheering — they were so sweet — so I get backstage and Jamie Noble and all the trainers and doctors that we had were checking my reflexes and my body felt fine after that, it was just achy.

“But Sasha was there the whole entire time. She did not want to leave my side — like literally did not want to leave my side — and she was crying her eyes out. She said ‘I’m so sorry’ and I’m like ‘It’s not your fault, none of this is your fault.

“So then literally the next day I get flown out to Orlando to see a doctor,” Paige continued. “The next day after that I got flown out to Dr. Maroon. He felt my neck and he was like ‘You can have another surgery if you want, but you still have to retire, either way.’ He was like ‘if you get hit again you’ll be paralyzed,’ kind of the same as Edge and I already knew that I was just hoping he would tell me something different.

“So getting back to work, I didn’t wanna tell anyone just yet. I was like ‘I’m fine, I just need a couple of weeks.’

“But, I remember just telling Sasha ‘I can’t wrestle anymore’ and she was devastated, she started crying, crying her eyes out. I was like ‘I’m so sorry’, I think it’s just a British thing to apologize! But I was like ‘I’m sorry, it’s not your fault’ and she’s just been so, so supportive. She always texts me like ‘hey, how are you doing, how things going?’ you know, and she’s just always been really great.”

Paige alludes to the fact that her neck wasn’t strong enough and that it was a matter of time before she got injured again.