Zelina Vega: Winning The US Title, Backlash In Puerto Rico, Playing AJ Lee In "Fighting With My Family"

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Zelina Vega (@ZelinaVegaWWE) is a professional wrestler currently signed with WWE. She sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Nashville, TN to discuss defeating Chelsea Green to win the Women's US Championship, wrestling Rhea Ripley in Puerto Rico, becoming friends with The Rock and being cast as AJ Lee in the Paige biopic "Fighting With My Family", prank calling Dominik Mysterio, being the first-ever Queen of the Ring winner, being mentored by Rey Mysterio and more!

Quote I'm thinking about: "Winners embrace hard work. They love the discipline of it, the trade-off they're making to win. Losers, on the other hand, see it as punishment. And that's the difference." - Lou Holtz

On showing a more ruthless side:

“I feel like it has been wanting to come out for a while. Because I also feel like Zelina has been held down for quite a bit, especially being a babyface. When I was a heel, I got to say whatever I wanted. I was like, let me check before I start saying sh*t. But I’m like, she’s been held down as a babyface, especially when it comes to the mic, because you hear all the time, ‘Oh my God, Zelina was so much better as a heel…’ blah blah. It’s because I could say where the f*ck I wanted, and no one bat an eyelid. Just like, oh, that’s Zelina being Zelina. But as a babyface, it was like, Oh, you don’t want to sound like a heel. You don’t want to talk like that. You don’t want to be saying this. I’m like, okay, okay, that’s cool, but now I have a reason to be mad, and now I have a reason to talk the way I want to talk to whoever I want to talk to.”

On winning the Women’s US Championship:

“Well the day of, when it actually happened, I think I was just so in work mode that I wasn’t able to grasp what was happening. Then the second I grabbed my face, when I was walking up the ramp with it, that’s when it kind of hit me. And I was like, oh sh*t, this is real right now, like work stuff and things. And then it was like, oh sh*t, this is my first singles title, what the hell? It just so happened to be the same time that the commentators putting that over so yeah, I think that’s when it hit me and I was kind of blown away by it. I wasn’t expecting to get emotional, because I hate crying. I hate it, as much as you’re like, Oh, she’s gonna cry again. I hate crying. When it was coming out, it’s like, you kind of fight it a bit, but that moment and Backlash were the two that I just let it go.”

On how she felt walking up the ramp with the title:

“Shock? I think I even said, ‘Oh sh*t.’ I think I was so in shock, but it was also excitement and some weird form of fulfillment too. I felt like things had finally come full circle in that moment. Because I think even the fans were shocked, they weren’t expecting that either. You can kind of tell by any of the fan cams or any of the clips that I saw, especially this one clip, this guy was like, Yeah, all right, 1, 2, Oh my God. So it’s cool to see that, too. So I think we all kind of were in this moment of shock together.”

On Backlash in Puerto Rico:

“Also very unexpected, just because that match wasn’t supposed to be about me. It was supposed to be about Rhea, and it was supposed to be her first title defense, she’s gonna look like a monster. That was the plan. I understood it. Everyone understood that this is what was happening, until that night before. Then once I came out with Rey, everybody was all kind of like, Oh, hmm. Because that match was supposed to be a lot shorter than what it was. Very, very, very short. And I just remember, like, after the match with Rey and whatever, mind you, I felt like an eight-year-old again in my head, standing next to him. Every time I see him, I get giddy, because it’s just like, Oh, sh*t, that’s Rey.”

On the Backlash entrance:

Well, they didn’t know that, but I knew that. I was like I wanted to be a walking Puerto Rican flag. I’ve never gotten to wrestle in Puerto Rico. I never got to westle in front of that specific part of my family that lives out there. So I was like from the hair to the nails to the shoes to the outfit, I wanted everything. And yeah, it was just in my head. I had such a detailed vision. I needed Usama [Ishtay] to do my gear and the flag. I needed Kendra do my hair. I was very specific on who was working on what. Even when I think about it now, it feels like I don’t remember exactly how it went, but I do remember the feeling of it. I remember the lump in my throat, the hole in my chest, the sinking feeling in my stomach, and just not being able to breathe all the way because I was so nervous. So it’s those feelings I remember, or I remember crying. I remember punching Rhea in the face for no reason, and she just didn’t even react. She just, and I’ve said this before, but when she gets into beast mode, it’s just like her eyes are black, and she’s not there anymore. She’s not herself anymore. She is Rhea, this entity. So yeah, I just remember little things like that. I remember, obviously, the chancla moment with my mom. And I remember, I knew I had really bad aim, so I don’t know how I hit her. No clue at all. So it’s just certain things that I remember, but I also remember having the conversation with Rey prior, and he was like, ‘You’re always so high strung, breathe, calm down right before you go out there. Just take another deep breath and just feel it. I know you don’t like feeling but just be in it if you want to be happy, be happy. If you feel like being sad or angry or whatever Zelina is feeling in that moment, let it be amplified out there.’ I felt it. I feel like everybody felt it. It’s weird because to this day, that’s the only time I can recall Rhea ever getting booed. So it was really just how passionate those fans were, and I think as much as they loved her, they also felt how much it meant to me, which made them go, all right, yeah, we’re rocking with her.” 

On the reactions Zelina Vega and Bad Bunny got:

“Yeah, like, physically shaking, actually shaking. I remember thinking he is like a god here, obviously, but that was to be expected. I knew that the second that I heard his entrance music hit, I was like, oh yeah, this is gonna be insane. But for me, for Damian, Carlito, it was such a beautiful love letter to Puerto Rico and all of its wrestlers. I think that’s really what it was. It was like a love letter to them by the fans.”

On prank calling Dominik Mysterio:

“So that one, okay, not that I like to compare myself to Nicki Minaj in this way. But also, when Nicki Minaj is talking, she always sounds like she’s really bored. You ever hear her talking like this? It’s very boring. But she’s bored, because she’s the queen, so most people can never understand what she goes through, but that’s how she talks. It’s a Queens thing, like she has a certain way of talking where she sounds bored. But like little personalities will start to come out. I think these little personalities are just in there somewhere, and they just pop out at random moments.”

On whether Dom knew:

“I don’t know what Dom knew, honestly. Even Rey was like, ‘Of course he stayed on the phone.’ So yeah, I don’t know. I think he was more confused than anything else, which is why he entertained it. But yeah, and the best thing was that I didn’t realize it was going to go as viral as it did. So work that next Monday was so weird, because everybody knew about it, like the writers knew about it, like TR knew about it, like everybody thought it was hysterical. And I’m like, Oh my God, I hope that they don’t make this a part of my gimmick now, because that would really suck. Because I can’t really do that on call. It just happens, I don’t know, like, especially Harold. His name’s Harold.”

On using the Code Red:

“So let’s just say when it comes to me being a smaller wrestler, especially as a smaller female wrestler, there’s not a whole lot of moves that I can do where it’s looking effective. I can’t really lift many people, so I was like, I need a move that I can do to anybody at any time, whatever. And I loved the code red. It was the code red and the basement rana, the spike rana, those are the two that I really, really loved that he [Amazing Red] did. He was like, ‘Okay, you can have them both, but you don’t have to do [what I do]’ He does his thing before he does it. He’s like, ‘You don’t have to do that, it’s mine, but it is now yours, we’re blood, you can absolutely do it.’ So yeah, and it started off as me kind of like waiting because I knew Alexa was doing it, and I was like, let me just start off with red eye, that’s what I did in NXT to Drew, to Aleister, Johnny. But yeah, that’s how that started.”

On winning Queen of the Ring:

“That’s where the weird Australian, British kind of accent started. So yeah, because Vince asked me, can you do an accent? I was like, I could do a really bad one. And he’s like, that’s even better. Do that! I’m like, All right, cool. So yeah, that’s how it started. I did talk to Booker T right before I won it and I was like, ‘Hey, are you cool with me doing an accent if I end up doing this?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, for sure.’ I was talking to him and Sharmell, he’s like, ‘Make sure you make it yours. But whatever feels natural to you, just amplify that.’ So it was cool to get to talk to them right before it happened, because for me, he’s my favorite. King Booker was my favorite.”

On thinking things in WWE might not happen:

“I wasn’t sure if it was gonna happen, but I knew I wasn’t willing to completely give up, even though I know I said it. It’s one of those things that you say deep down in your heart, there’s just something that no matter how much you hate it, you’re always gonna go back to it. I just remember when it came to there was an audition that I did and everything was going great with it, I got accepted for it. It was like we were doing the fittings, everything’s going great. Then they switched it last minute, let’s just say from a female villain to a male villain. So they had to go that route completely and I was so destroyed from that. Then at my tryout from WWE that month, they also said no. I remember just texting Dwayne, ‘I think I’m done with this, I can’t do this anymore, it’s just no after no after no, I just don’t see it happening.’ It was like eight tryouts with WWE. Every year I had a tryout and they said no until that point. So it was like they hadn’t seen me in my element, though. It was like, Okay, do a bunch of rolls, hit the ropes and do all this stuff, but they didn’t get to see me cutting a promo in front of the crowd, controlling a crowd, going and having a match in front of a crowd. And once they did, that’s when that changed.”

When WWE saw Zelina differently:

“When they saw me as AJ Lee.”

On how the Fighting With My Family Role came together:

“That was a Dwayne thing too. That same text, he was like, ‘Don’t do anything crazy. I’ve been working on something. Give me a few days.'”

On how her friendship with The Rock started:

“So I believe it was Raw when Rusev and Lana were doing with something with him in the ring. So it was in Brooklyn. That was also one of the days that I was doing tryout stuff, and I was talking to Kofi actually, right outside Gorilla, because they’re like extras could be right outside Gorilla or in catering. So I was talking to Kofi because I knew the next day I was gonna have a tryout. So I was like, how can I make this different? How can I make this stand out? So we’re having this conversation. Dwayne’s done doing his thing, and he comes back out, and he passes me, he looks at me, and he’s obviously looking down. So I just froze at first, but when someone like that is looking at you, the first thing you should do is just like, ‘Hi, I’m blah, blah, blah.’ And so I did, and he was like, ‘Oh, is that your real name?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ He’s like, ‘Thea, what?’ I was like ‘Thea Trinidad’, and he was like, ‘That’s a really cool name. Actually, my name is just Dwayne Johnson. It’s kind of boring.’ I’m like, Yeah, no sh*t. I mean, yes, dear Dwayne Johnson, yes, hmm, this is really awkward. Sorry. I didn’t know what to say, and he kind of just laughed. And then he kind of walked away, and then he turned back to me, and he went like this [motions to come here]. And I was like, Oh, sh*t, I think I’m in trouble. And then Kofi is like, ‘Just go talk to him.’ I was like, ‘I don’t know what to say. What am I saying?’ He’s like, ‘Just go there, because he’s gonna do this for a long time. Just go.’ So I went over, and he was like, ‘You look like you have something important to tell me.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, actually, yes, I do.’ But I had been waiting to tell him this for God knows how long, because I had seen him in other tryouts prior, but I never had the balls to just go up to him and say anything to him. So very short version of what I said was just, ‘You were my dad’s favorite wrestler. My dad passed away at 9/11 but I have all these amazing memories with him, going to MSG and sharing these memories with him because of you, because he loved you so much, and because we got to go to events and watch you together. I have all these amazing memories, and it’s because of you. So thank you.’ And he was like, ‘Holy sh*t, that’s not actually what I thought you were gonna say at all.’ He just hugged me and what was probably a two-second hug felt like a 20-second hug. It felt like nobody else was in the room with us. It was just us. And he was like, ‘Thank you so much for telling me that.’ And, yeah, we just became friends after that.”

On being cast as AJ Lee:

“So he knew for a while that I wanted to do acting, because I was doing acting before I started wrestling, because I thought that’s what you had to do. I loved any kind of backstage or vignettes or in-ring promos. I loved that. And he was like the godfather of it. So he knew that I wanted to do acting also. I remember one time he was like, ‘You sure you want to do wrestling? Because I just feel like acting is right there for you. You have the look…’ I’ve seen what you can do. I showed him reels and stuff. So he’s like, ‘You sure?’ And I’m like, ‘100% sure wrestling first and foremost, but I’d love to do acting at some point too.’ He was like, Okay. And then eventually he’s like, ‘I have the perfect blending of the worlds for you right now.’ I was like, okay, and mind you, so this came after I had already said I don’t want to do anything entertainment business anymore. I’m f*cking over it, blah, blah, blah. He’s like, ‘Give me a few days.’ So he calls me, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, I got this thing…’ The funny thing is, I don’t remember exactly how the conversation went, because I remember a sinking feeling the more he talks. I was like, Oh my God, I feel like something big is coming, and I don’t know what it is yet. ‘Then he’s like, so we’re doing this movie. It’s a documentary that they had on Paige’s life and her family. Basically, we’re doing the movie, but we’re continuing it, and kind of replaying this whole thing out with Paige and AJ Lee and how she won the championship and whatever, because I was the one who told her about it that day, and I need you to be my Divas Champion.’ And I was like, ‘What?!’ He’s like, ‘This is usually where people are like, super happy and say, “Thank you so much.”’ I’m like, ‘Wait, wait, I didn’t even hear what you’re saying correctly. Can you repeat what you just said? Because it sounds like you offered me a role just now, but I’m not 100% that’s what you said.’ And he’s like, ‘Yes. You know you don’t even have to audition for it. I already know that you can do it, you’re gonna be my Divas Champion.’ I was like, holy sh*t. So yeah. And then I remember just studying AJ’s voice to exhaustion, because I was like, I know I can’t wear the outfit that she obviously was iconic for.” 

Why was that? 

“Because it wasn’t just a movie for wrestling fans, they wanted it to be a movie that everybody can understand. Because you can’t really explain to you know, Bob at the bank that he knows this is the good guy, this is the bad guy, because they both look kind of alternative and kind of similar. So it’s like, wait, but who’s who? Then, you know, for them, they were just like, this one looks bad. She has the championship. She’s mean. This one looks this way, and she’s nice, and she’s blah, blah, blah. So they wanted to have a distinct different look. But you still get the idea of who I am, from the skipping, from the voice, which people thought I was doing a voiceover. I wasn’t. ‘For 295, days I have been your Divas Champion…’ It’s the way that she moves her face and the way that she kind of dips into a deeper tone sometimes. I had to study how she did that, and how she moved like this, and the little things.”

On the Eddie Guerrero tribute in her matches:

“So initially this was more of a Rey idea than it was mine. Because it was just for Backlash initially, it was just, ‘Can you do the Frog Splash?’ And I was like, ‘I’ve never actually physically tried it, and I’m afraid it’s gonna look more like a tadpole splash than a Frog Splash, so I don’t know if I should do it.’ And he was like, ‘Okay, well, you do the meteora anyway. If you do it, maybe you should just do the Eddie shimmy. Everyone’s gonna know what it is.’ And I was like, okay. Then after a while, it just became something I did, because it just felt natural to just do that. But yeah, it wasn’t necessarily an idea of mine. It came from Rey.”

What is Zelina Vega grateful for?

“My family, my cats and my job.”

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