Saraya Bevis
Saraya-Jade Bevis is an English professional wrestler. She is known for her time in WWE, performing under the ring name Paige and in All Elite Wrestling, where she performed mononymously as Saraya. In WWE, she was the youngest female champion in WWE history, a two-time WWE Divas Champion, and the inaugural NXT Women's Champion. She is also the first woman to hold both a WWE and NXT Women's Championship simultaneously. In AEW, she is a former AEW Women's World Champion.
In 2005, at the age of 13, Bevis made her debut under the ring name Britani Knight for her family's World Association of Wrestling promotion. She went on to hold several championships on the European independent circuit. After talent scouting in England, WWE signed Bevis in 2011 and she began wrestling in its developmental systems, debuting in Florida Championship Wrestling in 2012 and later going on a winning streak in NXT. She made her surprise debut on the main roster in 2014 and immediately won the Divas Championship, making her the youngest Divas Champion at the age of 21.
In 2015 and 2016, Bevis went on hiatus due to injury, undergoing neck surgery in October 2016. She suffered another neck injury in December 2017 that forced her into retirement. Following her retirement, she remained with WWE as a contributor to WWE-related programs and fulfilled managing roles until her contract with the company expired in July 2022. In September 2022, she signed with AEW and made her debut for the company at Grand Slam, where she was the leader of The Outcasts stable. At All In, she won the Women's World title in London.
In 2012, Channel 4 produced a documentary about Bevis and her family called The Wrestlers: Fighting with My Family, which was later adapted into the biographical sports comedy-drama film Fighting with My Family, starring Florence Pugh as Bevis. She ranked No. 1 in Pro Wrestling Illustrateds Female 50 in 2014, and was named Diva of the Year by Rolling Stone that same year.
Early life
Saraya-Jade Bevis was born in Norwich on 17 August 1992, the daughter of professional wrestlers Julia Hamer-Bevis and Patrick Bevis. Her older brother Zak, older half-brother Roy, and nephew Ricky are also wrestlers. The family runs the World Association of Wrestling promotion in Norwich, while her mother also owns and operates the female-only Bellatrix Female Warriors promotion in Norwich. Her mother once wrestled while unknowingly seven months pregnant with Bevis.Bevis grew up in a council house in Norwich, where she attended The Hewett School. As a child, she was scared of wrestling because of the injuries suffered by her family, and instead wanted to become a zoologist. From the age of 10, she would occasionally get in the ring and fight her brothers while her father taught her wrestling moves. Bevis's younger brother died when she was 13. At the age of 15, she started working as a bouncer and bartender at her parents' pub while they were away for wrestling bookings.
In the mid-2020s, Bevis disclosed that during her childhood, she and her brother Zak were sexually abused by a guest staying regularly at their home. Bevis's parents did not know about the abuse, and Bevis herself was not able to process the trauma until a 2021 phone call with Zak. Bevis has stated the trauma of her abuse contributed to drug abuse later in life.
Professional wrestling career
European independent circuit (2005–2011)
Bevis made her debut in 2005, at the age of 13, when her father, who was running a wrestling show, asked her to replace a wrestler who failed to turn up. Her earliest recorded match was in April 2006 when she, using the ring name Britani Knight, teamed with her mother for a loss in a triple threat tag team match in World Association of Wrestling. Knight then allied with Melodi to form a tag team called the Norfolk Dolls and they wrestled in multiple English promotions. The Norfolk Dolls won the new World Association of Women's Wrestling Tag Team Championship in June 2007 by defeating the Legion of Womb, but it became inactive due to no title defences by the Norfolk Dolls.At the age of 14, Knight sent résumés to numerous wrestling promotions around Europe and earned a chance to wrestle in countries like Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Belgium, France, Turkey, Denmark, Norway, and Germany, as well as the United States, managing to travel by herself at 14. She began to compete for singles championships without much initial success. In Scotland, Knight competed for the World Wide Wrestling League Women's Title, but lost to Sara in the tournament finals in September 2007. In December 2007, Knight took part in a tournament where the winner would become the first WAWW British Champion, but lost in the finals to Jetta. In 2008, Knight challenged both Sara and Jetta for their respective titles, but failed in her title bids.
Knight went on to achieve more singles success from 2009. In August 2009, Knight defeated her mother Sweet Saraya in a two-out-of-three falls match to capture the vacant Herts and Essex Women's Championship. Later that month, Knight once again defeated Saraya to capture the WAWW British Championship. In November 2009, Knight captured the Real Deal Wrestling Women's Championship from her mother in an elimination match also featuring Chelsey Love and Stacey Baybie. In December 2009, while in HEW, Knight won the RQW Women's Championship by defeating Jetta in a champion vs. champion match with her HEW Women's Championship on the line. In May 2010, Knight and her mother challenged Amazon and Ananya for the PWF Ladies Tag Team Championship, which they won. On 17 July 2010, Knight lost the HEW Women's Championship to her mother.
On 22 January 2011, Knight captured the German Stampede Wrestling Ladies' Championship from Blue Nikita. Knight also competed at debut show of Turkish Power Wrestling in Ankara in January 2011, with a losing effort against Shanna for the inaugural TPW Ladies Crown. On 11 March, she recaptured the HEW Women's Championship from her mother. Knight returned to Pro-Wrestling: EVE on 8 April to participate in a two-night tournament to crown the first ever Pro-Wrestling: EVE Champion. In the first night, Knight lost a four-way match to Jenny Sjödin, won a Last Chance battle royal, then defeated Sjödin in the quarter-final match. The next day, she defeated Jetta in the semi-final match, and later in the finals defeated Nikki Storm to win the Pro Wrestling: EVE Championship. On 30 April, Knight won the SCW Ladies Championship by defeating champion Amy Cooper. Also in 2011, Knight won an elimination match to become WAWW Hardcore Champion.
On 4 June, Knight lost her Pro-Wrestling: EVE Championship to Jenny Sjödin, and on 26 June, Knight lost her SCW Ladies Championship to her mother during a four-way match also involving Amy Cooper and Laura Wellings. On 2 August, Knight and her mother lost their PWF Ladies Tag Team Championship to Amazon and Destiny in a two-out-of-three falls match. On 12 November, Knight vacated the HEW Women's Championship. Knight also lost the WAWW British Championship to Liberty on 19 November 2011, while also vacating the RQW Women's Championship on that day.
Shimmer Women Athletes (2011)
Bevis, again billed as Britani Knight, debuted for the American all-female promotion Shimmer Women Athletes on 26 March 2011 at the tapings of Volume 37 in Berwyn, Illinois. Teaming with her mother Saraya Knight, as the Knight Dynasty, they were managed by Rebecca Knox and defeated Nikki Roxx and Ariel via disqualification after the other team used the Dynasty's brass knuckles. This led to the Knight Dynasty receiving Shimmer Tag Team Championship match against the Seven Star Sisters at Volume 38, which the Knight Dynasty lost.In October 2011 at Volume 42, the Knight Dynasty lost another Shimmer Tag Team Championship match against champions Ayako Hamada and Ayumi Kurihara when Saraya refused to help Britani. Saraya then scolded Britani after the match. At Volume 43, Britani lost to Jessie McKay, which was her third consecutive loss. This led to Saraya disowning and slapping Britani, before a brawl between the two ensued and had to be pulled apart. Britani subsequently challenged Saraya to a match at Volume 44, where Britani defeated Saraya under no disqualification rules, in what was her final Shimmer match.