Zelina Vega's WWE career came to an end when the company released her and her husband Aleister Black in tandem, just days after WrestleMania 42. While speaking with Denise Salcedo, Vega admitted that she initially didn't see the move coming; still, she's seemingly made peace with it."The thing is I still have had a wonderful career with WWE," Vega said. "Regardless of anything, when it comes to that, and obviously I was released prior as well, but I still had almost a 10-year career there. The way I look at it is like, yes, my husband and I both got released, but I was able to meet my husband and make him my husband because of WWE. I had that moment in Puerto Rico at Backlash because of WWE. I really try to spin things into a positive regardless. It's really hard because, as I said a million times, I'm such a big advocate for mental health, that not everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows. Not every day is going to be a happy one. I think I've dealt with the ups and the downs of it."According to Vega, wrestlers typically go into one of two modes after receiving such news: panic or survival. In her case, Vega leaned toward a survival mentality, with a focus on remembering the positive aspects of her WWE run. This includes WWE Backlash 2023, where she challenged Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women's Championship before an electric Puerto Rico crowd. Vega also holds her portrayal as three-time WWE Women's Champion AJ Lee in the "Fighting with My Family" film close to her heart.Vega left WWE as a one-time Women's United States Champion and one-time Women's Tag Team Champion, the latter feat of which she enjoyed alongside Carmella.
Following her exit from WWE, the former Women's US Champion rebranded herself into Xelina Vega. When asked about the reason behind her name change, Vega indicated that she wanted to bring her true self to the surface."I wanted to keep the Zelina factor to it because, obviously, when you see the Funko Pop and just how big Puerto Rico was, I still want to keep that," she said. "People know that's still me regardless of what company I'm with, but it's also shedding the skin. I always talk about like I'm shedding that skin and bringing a more real version of myself to people."In her eyes, the "real version" of Xelina Vega means she's no longer held back by the corporate or creative restraints previously imposed on her. "That means no more like, 'Oh yeah, your promos are so great, but it can't be better than this person,'" Vega said. "Or like, 'Oh, you want to make sure that you do this or you talk like this or you don't say this.' Now it's like there's no change, there's no nothing. I want people to see what I actually can do."Vega and Black are now both free agents, with Black set to make his independent wrestling return during PROGRESS' "The Odyssey Tour" in September. Vega's post-WWE path is currently unclear. She last wrestled on the April 16 edition of "WWE Main Event" in a losing effort to "The Juggernaut" Jordynne Grace.When she performed for TNA, wrestling fans knew Vega as Rosita. She made her official pro wrestling debut in 2010.If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Denise Salcedo with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
