Zelina Vega won her first singles championship in WWE on Friday’s SmackDown. She is the new Women’s United States Champion, dethroning the inaugural champion Chelsea Green at 132 days. Vega is a former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion with Carmella.
Vega’s husband, Aleister Black, also made his return to WWE on Friday’s show.
After her win, she spoke in the locker room with Byron Saxton about what this win means to her.
“Remember that part when we were talking about earlier that I’m at a loss for words? I think it’s even more now. I don’t even know what to say. I’m looking at it and it doesn’t feel real because this was something that was just in my dreams and now it’s real life and I’m holding it.
It’s kind of just crazy. So I’m like, I don’t know. I can’t believe it’s real. I can’t believe I’m holding this right now and saying that my name is in the history books as the second women’s United States champion. That’s absolutely insane to me. I can’t wait to bring this home to my mom, to my stepdad, my brothers, my grandmother, everybody, my aunts. I can’t wait to just finally bring home singles gold to my family, it’s been a really amazing night for my household, so I’m very happy, very, very happy.”
Vega continues about the legacy the men’s United States Title has meant and now she feels a part of the history.
“It’s one that you always pray for, but you never really know if it’s gonna happen. I think hearing the words, you deserve it, as I was kind of walking up with this up the ramp, really shocked me because I felt like maybe the fans had given up on me, honestly. It’s been a while since I’ve been able to not just capture gold, but have a win. This felt like a win for me, but just also a win for my friends, my family, my fellow LWO members. I mean, Rey Mysterio is a former United States champion. I was like, I’ve seen him come back with this, and Eddie Guerrero was a former United States champion. This is just history. I can’t believe that I’m finally a part of it. So I’m so, so happy. I feel like I have to pinch myself, honestly, bro, because it doesn’t seem real.”
She wraps up the interview with the cliche but all important saying of “never give up on yourself.”
“I mean, the cliche is never stop, right? But I think it needs to be never give up on yourself. Because I have come close to that so many times in my life and there was always a turnaround. There’s always gonna be the moments where you hit rock bottom and then you pick yourself back up. So it’s never give up on yourself because if Zelina Vega can stand here as United States Champion… I’ve been told that they were too small, too fat, too short, too skinny, not pretty enough. I’ve been told everything in the world as to why I shouldn’t be champion, but I finally am.”
Vega has been wrestling since the age of 17 and made her debut in 2010 at a WSU show. She made her TV debut for TNA in 2011 and would go on to become a TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion with Sarita (Sarah Stock).
