Why Paige VanZant Hasn't Been Seen In AEW, Explained (2024)

In 2021, fans got their first glimpse of seeing Paige VanZant in an AEW ring. With a background in mixed martial arts, VanZant was aligned with Dan Lambert’s American Top Team. During this time, ATT formed a partnership with “All Ego” Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky, collectively The Men of the Year. She encountered several high profile names, such as The Inner Circle, Brandi Rhodes, and Tay Melo. VanZant also made her professional wrestling debut at Double Or Nothing 2022. VanZant was making a big splash in AEW, however, an injury has kept her out of action and off of television for months. But, recent news has revealed that VanZant has expressed interest in making a return to the ring.

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In late December 2022, VanZant revealed in an Instagram post that she was dealing with three broken bones in her foot. During an interview with Grapsody (h/t Fightful) a few days later, Tony Khan expressed that he had interest in bringing back VanZant when the moment was right. He said, “I would like that. Paige VanZant makes a lot of money. Very talented and commands a big dollar figure, but I’m very interested in that. Paige VanZant, I would like at some point to come back, I really like Paige VanZant, she’s awesome. I love Dan Lambert. It wasn’t a one-off, I’m open to doing more stuff with Paige VanZant. At some point, I would definitely be open to (a return), down the road. She’s tough as hell, we would love to have her back, she has a great attitude. She did great in the match and with the right fight and right opponent, I would love for Paige VanZant to fight again in AEW.” However, VanZant still has yet to return to AEW.

RELATED: Recently, Gangrel, who had helped to train VanZant, said that he had heard from her about wanting to get back into the ring, but the two have not been training. In an interview with Fightful (h/t 411Mania), he said, “I haven’t seen her. A week ago, she wrote me saying she wanted to come back and start training, but I haven’t heard back from her. I said, ‘I’m here, I’ve been here the whole time.” As of writing, there is still no set timeframe as to when fans can expect to see her back. However, Gangrel believes that she has a lot of potential in the world of professional wrestling. He said, “She did write me saying she wanted to comeback and train. She had a lot of potential and if she would have trained steady at it, like you do anything in life, she could have been very successful.”

Paige VanZant Has A Lot Of Potential In Professional Wrestling

VanZant does certainly have a lot of potential as a professional wrestler. She is accomplished in MMA, with an 8-5-0 record in UFC. She made her in-ring debut at Double or Nothing 2022, where she teamed up with Ethan Page and Scorpio Sky to face Tay Melo, Sammy Guevara, and Frankie Kazarian. She also showed on numerous occasions that she does indeed possess a lot of charisma and personality. There has been a lot of cross-over between professional wrestling and MMA in the past that has seen several competitors excel at both. VanZant certainly does have the potential to be among those names as well.

RELATED: Paige VanZant Was In Discussions With WWE Prior To Joining AEW

In addition, with the growth of AEW, there numerous names in the promotion that VanZant could square off with. She has the tools to be a big name, without a doubt. Only time will tell when VanZant makes her return back to professional wrestling and in an AEW ring.