Zelina Vega didn’t change her name just because she left WWE. She says she changed it because she’s leaving the old version of herself behind too.
After revealing her new “Xelina” persona following her WWE release, the former WWE star explained exactly why she decided against simply continuing to wrestle as Zelina Vega. According to her, the new name represents something much bigger than a different spelling—it’s the beginning of a version of herself she says fans have never really been allowed to see.
Speaking with Denise Salcedo, Xelina revealed she never wanted to completely walk away from the name that helped build her career. Moments like her Funko Pop release and her emotional WWE Backlash appearance in Puerto Rico meant too much to erase.
“Well, I wanted to keep the Zelina factor to it because obviously when you see like the Funko Pop and just how big Puerto Rico was, I still want to keep that, you know. People know that that’s still me regardless of what company I’m with.”
But that wasn’t the whole story. While she wanted to keep the recognition she’d earned, she also wanted fans to understand they’re looking at someone different now.
“But it’s also shedding the skin. I always talk about like I’m shedding that skin and like kind of bringing a more real version of myself to people.”
That led Denise to ask the obvious follow-up: What exactly is the “real” version of Xelina? The answer had nothing to do with a new costume or a new catchphrase. It had everything to do with creative freedom. She described what she says life was like working under creative restrictions, recalling being told there were limits on how far she could go.
“That means no more handcuffs. That means no more like, ‘Oh yeah, your promos are so great, but it can’t be better than this person.’ Or like, ‘Oh, it’s like, you know, you want to make sure that you do this or you talk like this or you don’t say this or whatever.'”
Now, she says, those restrictions are gone. And that’s exactly why she believes fans are finally going to see what she’s capable of. She even laughed while admitting she’s trying not to let that freedom get the better of her.
“Now it’s like there’s no change, there’s no nothing. And it’s like I want people to see what I actually can do. And I’m trying to behave. I’m really trying to behave because I know I can get a little whatever, but I’m trying to behave.”
The comments come just days after Vega officially introduced her new persona and announced her first post-WWE appearance at WrestleCon. While she hasn’t revealed where she’ll wrestle next, one thing is already clear: she doesn’t see this as a simple name change. She sees it as a fresh start.
What do you think of Xelina’s new direction? Do you like the reinvention, or would you rather have seen her keep the Zelina Vega name? Let us know in the comments below.
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