Zelina Vega Should Have Won At Backlash Says WWE Hall Of Famer
A WWE Hall of Famer believes that Zelina Vega should have beaten Rhea Ripley at Backlash and left Puerto Rico as the Smackdown Women’s Champion.
Rhea Ripley went into Backlash as the heavy favorite to keep the Smackdown Women’s Title against Zelina Vega.
Since Ripley just won the Smackdown Women’s Title one month earlier at WrestleMania 39, there are likely very few people out there that thought Ripley was going to lose the title so quickly.
Zelina Vega paid tribute to Puerto Rico during the match both with her gear and the giant Puerto Rican flag that was part of her jacket for her entrance. The fans were strongly behind her throughout the match. Vega got one good nearfall with a Meteora double knee move, but Ripley kicked out and went on to win with the Riptide. After the match, the crowd gave Vega a big ovation.
On Busted Open Radio while talking about the show, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray said that Vega should have beat Ripley.
“There are certain times in this business you do things for other reasons beyond just the business. 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?”
What Bully was referencing is that Zelina Vega’s father died on September 11, 2011, when she was ten years old.
After the match, Zelina Vega went on Instagram thanking many people for their support while saying that the Backlash match changed her life forever.