Paige's Emotional Reaction To WWE Streaming Crackdown: 'Twitch Was My Escape'

It seems that time is up for WWE talents and streaming. Several WWE wrestlers, including AJ Styles, Cesaro, and Mia Yim, have informed their communities that they won’t be able to stream on Twitch for the foreseeable future. Paige, who has been vocal throughout the process of WWE cracking down on third-party services, commented again throughout tonight’s stream. Like AJ, she said this wasn’t the end for Twitch forever, but she also made it abundantly clear that she didn’t agree with her employers in this regard.

There may be a time where I have to stop streaming. I’ll have to walk away. If I have to leave, we have to make today and Saturday fucking crazy. I’ve honestly gotten to the point where I cannot deal with this company anymore. Now I have to make a very important decision. I’m fucking tired, man. I broke my fucking neck twice, twice for this company. Over fucking worked. I broke my fucking neck twice for this company.

They don’t realize that this community isn’t about subs. We build a community and family where this is an escape for a lot of people, including myself. I can’t wrestle anymore. I was worked so hard in WWE that I can’t wrestle anymore because my neck is fucked. My whole dreams got taken away. I had to have something that fulfilled that huge fucking void that I lost with wrestling. I couldn’t wrestle anymore, something I lived and breathed since I was a fetus, and it got ripped away from me. I had to find something that I could fill a little bit of that and Twitch was a wonderful thing for me. It’s such a wonderful place for me,

Paige went on to say that she understands the move more for other wrestlers who are constantly working, but she is sitting in her house doing nothing and needs a creative outlet.

I understand if they’re like, ‘you’re wrestling every day and doing shows every day,’ but I’m an injured wrestler. I get used for media stuff, sometimes, but at the end of the day, I’m in my house going fucking crazy and I need something to keep me sane. Twitch was my escape.

I haven’t been used on TV in a year. This is our fun and where we can be ourselves. That’s why we’re here and on Twitch. We also have a wonderful community. What’s the pocket change we’re getting compared to the billions these people are getting? We’re not hurting anybody or doing anything harmful, we’re just having a good time. People are on YouTube, have merchandise, wrestling schools, and Twitch gets taken down?

Thanks to our friends at Fightful for the Twitch stream transcription!