Bully Ray & Mark Henry Say Zelina Vega Should Have Won Women's Title At WWE Backlash
WWE's return to Puerto Rico for Backlash was incredibly emotional for Zelina Vega. However, according to Bully Ray and Mark Henry, it was also a missed opportunity. On "Busted Open Radio," the two wrestling veterans discussed their opinion that Vega should have defeated Rhea Ripley for the "Smackdown" Women's Championship in her ancestral homeland. Bully then took it a step further by involving her father, who died during the September 11 attacks.
"There are certain times in this business you do things for other reasons beyond just the business," he said. "I don't think Zelina is a better wrestler than Rhea, but if there was ever a moment for Rhea to slip on a banana peel and for [Zelina] to get the one-two-three, it was that night in Puerto Rico, just so we could see that championship around her waist with her family coming in the ring [and] looking up at dad in the heavens ... Why not put that championship on her for two days? Why not get her over to the 9/11 memorial to take some pictures ... at her dad's final resting place that she can have forever and ever?"
Both agreed that such a finish wouldn't hurt Ripley and might've potentially gotten her beyond MJF-level heat. Henry even began to get emotional about what could have been, but in the end, all agreed that WWE "can't go back and catch lightning in a bottle. What's done is done."