WWE star Paige says an autograph seeker bought a plane ticket to reach the secure area around her connecting gate in Chicago, then waited for her with roughly 30 photographs to sign.
Speaking with TMZ Sports outside LAX, Paige said the man knew her flight, where she was connecting and what time she would land. “It’s too far,” she said.
The interview followed Paige’s August 23 account of the encounter on X, where she called showing up at her connecting gate “f***ing weirdo behavior.” Her objection was not simply that someone wanted an autograph. It was how far he apparently went to get one.
Paige said WWE events and organized meet-and-greets already give fans opportunities to approach wrestlers. Hotels, airports and the gate where somebody is trying to make a connection are another matter.
Paige Says the Man Admitted the Gate Setup Was ‘Weird’
Paige said she was connecting through Chicago rather than arriving at her final destination. She was still inside the airport’s secure area, making a connection rather than heading toward baggage claim or another publicly accessible arrivals area.
According to Paige, the man had purchased a ticket that let him reach the gate and was waiting with about 30 pictures. She recalled telling him, “Bro, this is really strange.” His response, she said, was essentially an agreement: he knew it was weird.
That was also what bothered Paige about the amount of travel information he appeared to have. She said he knew not only which flight she was taking but also where she would connect and when she was scheduled to arrive.
Her August 23 Posts Said the Ticket Was Supposed to Pay for Itself
Paige had already described the encounter publicly on August 23, writing that someone met her directly at the gate of her connecting flight with “like 30 pictures.” She said she is normally easygoing about autograph requests but told people not to turn up at her gate.
When another X user asked whether the person must have bought a ticket simply to get through security, Paige replied that he had. She also said she believed he expected to recover the ticket cost by selling the signed photographs.
There is no public evidence establishing what the man intended to do with the pictures, but Paige’s verdict on whether the plan worked was considerably easier to understand: “It wasn’t.”
Paige Asked Fans to Keep Autographs Away From Hotels and Airports
In the TMZ interview, Paige drew a straightforward line between places built for fan interaction and places wrestlers use while traveling.
She pointed to arenas and meet-and-greets as appropriate places to see WWE performers. Hotels, connecting gates and airports were the locations she specifically asked people not to turn into unofficial autograph sessions.
Paige did not argue that fans should stop approaching her altogether. She said she is generally willing to sign. Buying access to the secure side of an airport and appearing at her connecting gate was the part she considered excessive.
The Airport Encounter Came Four Months Into Paige’s WWE Return
Paige has been back on WWE television since WrestleMania 42 on April 18. With Nikki Bella unable to compete, Paige made a surprise return alongside Brie Bella in the Women’s Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Match.
WWE’s official WrestleMania results say it was Paige’s first WWE action in more than eight years. She and Brie won the championships that night after Paige pinned Alexa Bliss.
The reunion eventually became a rivalry. Fatal Influence defeated Paige and the Bella Twins at SummerSlam, and WWE later promoted Paige’s August 28 challenge against Women’s United States Champion Jacy Jayne.
Jayne retained the championship against Paige on SmackDown after interference from Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid. Nikki Bella then came to the ring and attacked Paige after the match.