Roxanne Perez Admits Anxiety Issues Were Not Just A WWE Storyline
Roxanne Perez has opened up about her mental health battles.
Roxanne Perez caused a stir in WWE when she collapsed in the ring following her successful NXT Women’s Championship defence against Meiko Satomura back in March 2023. Perez was not stripped of her title due to injury but there was uncertainty over whether she’d be able to compete in the ladder match for her title at NXT Stand & Deliver.
The 21-year-old ended up taking part in that match as she returned to NXT and spoke about her battles with anxiety that seemed to have overwhelmed her. The collapse drew parallels with Shawn Michaels collapsing in the ring in a bout with Owen Hart following his infamous run-in with some Marines in Syracuse, New York.
Speaking on the Getting Over podcast, Roxanne Perez opened up about the situation and alluded to the fact that while the collapse was an angle, her battles with anxiety are anything but:
“What a lot of people don’t know is that was real, and not just a storyline. I do deal with anxiety, I’ve dealt with depression, and continue to. I figured that it’s something you just kind of workaround, try to live with and find resources to help you deal with those things.
“I think that there’s still a stigma around it. I think I wanted to try and break that stigma, whether it was just me subtly talking about it, or making it normal to say, ‘I’m a WWE superstar but I deal with anxiety.’ My main goal was just to … I knew that was something I needed to watch on TV when I was a kid. I definitely think that could have helped me, so, if I can help anyone, whether it be adults or anyone that needs to hear that — someone else is going through that as well. I’m glad to be able to do that.”
Did Roxanne Perez win at the Great American Bash?
Roxanne Perez competed in the 60th WWE match of her young career at the Great American Bash where she took on English star Blair Davenport in a Weapons Wild match.
It was indeed a wild contest that saw a variety of weapons, including a cowbell used, but ultimately it was Roxanne Perez who picked up the win when she hit Pop Rox on a pile of steel chairs.