Saraya: 'Biggest ever' bout for pro-wrestling star, says family
- Published
Saraya will be fighting in the UK for the first time in eight years
The British family of pro-wrestling superstar Saraya are preparing themselves for the "biggest match of her career".
Saraya Jade Bevis became famous in the USA as the WWE wrestler Paige.
The 31-year-old and her wrestling family, from Norwich, inspired the film Fighting With My Family.
She returned to the ring last year with rival company All-Elite Wrestling (AEW) and is back in the UK for a hotly-anticipated show at Wembley Stadium.
"What I'm hoping for, above all hopes, is that she gets the title and there will be a Fighting With My Family 2 and a few more quid," joked her father Patrick Bevis, AKA Ricky Knight, the wrestling trainer and promoter.
"It's going to be massive and it will be a proud day."
Saraya pictured with her family and the lead actors at the Fighting With My Family premiere
Saraya was signed up by WWE in 2011 but was forced to retire in 2018 due to a neck injury.
She shocked fans when she crossed the divide to AEW and Sunday's homecoming show will be her first fight on British soil in eight years.
AEW is rolling out a host of familiar names in the wrestling world, including fellow Brits Nigel McGuinness, Anthony Ogogo and Will Ospreay.
It is the company's first show outside of North America and the first major wrestling event at Wembley since 1992's Summerslam.
Saraya was played by actress Florence Pugh in 2019's Fighting with My Family - written by Stephen Merchant - and Nick Frost played her father.
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Saraya's mother Julia Bevis, AKA Saraya Knight, told BBC Radio Norfolk she would be cheering her daughter on but added: "I need her to be safe and I don't want her to do anything stupid.
"I want her to come home from the end of the match and tell me she's okay, and from a mum's point of view, that means more than the belt."
AEW owner Tony Khan described Saraya as the "stuff of legend" and also told the BBC: "This is the biggest moment of her AEW run and it's a big opportunity in her career."
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