Zelina Vega Reflects On Struggles As A Wrestler After Entering WWE As A Manager

WWE star Zelina Vega has explained the difficulties she had as an on-screen manager, revealing how she wasn't keen on that role. 

Vega's WWE career began in 2017, initially as a manager to Andrade and an occasional wrestler, before she became a singles star. During a recent appearance on the "Lightweights Podcast," she talked about how the managerial role was not something she had thought about.

"Like, a manager was never on my list of ideas that I wanted, but it kind of just happened, and I fell into it. Then I just — I don't know, something when me and Andrade just got together, it was like lightning struck and then just we became this like force," she said.

While her pairing with Andrade worked well, Vega was never keen on being a manager and always had plans to be a wrestler. She detailed the various issues she had as an on-screen manager, and how she eventually got back to as a wrestler. 

"I wanted to be a part of things that were happening so bad, you know. I didn't feel completely a part of the locker room, like the female locker room, because we didn't have that kind of, you know, you feel differently after you wrestle somebody. There's a different kind of relationship that you eventually develop with that person. I just didn't really have that, you know. So, especially in NXT, I felt very much like an outsider because it was like — I was in the female locker room, but I just didn't have that relationship with everybody," Vega added.

Vega remembered how "NXT" boss Shawn Michaels was surprised to learn that she could wrestle, following which she got more opportunities. She feels that many WWE executives at that time, including Vince McMahon, didn't know that she could wrestle. Vega stated that many thought that she was only good on the mic as a mouthpiece for Andrade, and, in a way, had something to prove to her doubters.