Steve Carrier on September 10, 2018
Lillian Garcia welcomes Zelina Vega to the show.
Vega informs that she wanted to be a professional wrestler ever since she was 4 years old. Her mother thought it was just a phase but her father was fully behind her right away. He was an amateur wrestler and took her to ECW events when she was just a child. He was a professional wrestling fan and was determined to help her live her dream if he could.
She mentions that she was somewhat of a loner growing up. She was a short, nerdy kid who loved professional wrestling and she never had a lot of girl friends. She was a daddy’s girl and grew up with her brothers, so the fact that she hung around with boys felt normal for her.
She never really saw eye to eye with her mother. Her mother was never very supportive of her professional wrestling dreams because she was scared for her safety. When Vega finally accomplished her goals and made it to TNA, her mother was very proud of her and they’ve since become very close. Vega realizes now the sacrifices that her mother had to make for them when she was younger.
Vega informs that she wanted to start training to become a wrestler right after high school but her mother wouldn’t let her. She insisted that Vega go to college so Vega agreed. However, unbeknownst to her mother, she’d travel on a bus by herself to train every weekend and she did that for two years without her mother knowing.
Vega mentions that she was in a terrible motorcycle crash a few years ago. Her boyfriend was picking her up from work but he was drunk and she didn’t know. The doctors later told her that they weren’t sure how she survived, noting that she did a complete flip in the air and landed on her back. She thought to herself that her wrestling training probably helped her because it was similar to a front flip bump.
She also informs that her father was in one of the World Trade Centre towers on 9/11 when the towers went down. He actually called from inside the tower and said his goodbyes to her mother, and told her step father to take care of her and her brother. A part of her wishes she would have asked to talk to him in that moment, but she was in complete shock at the time. She was just 10 years old.
Vega mentions that she was a massive fan of The Hardy Boyz growing up. She had a chance to meet them years ago and got a picture and an autograph, but she was very nervous and could barely speak to them. She adds that since she started working for WWE she’s spoken to Matt and Jeff about this, and they’ve both been so kind to her.
She points out that Jeff Hardy actually wrote a song about 9/11 called, “September Day”, and that song really spoke to her. It was probably a combination of her love for him and the fact that the song spoke to her, but it really helped her. They’ve since bonded even further because of that special connection.
Garcia talks about her experience that day, because her Husband was actually on his was to the towers but was late because of a co-worker. He called her to say he was okay and she was in a panic. She recalls Vince McMahon asking her to sing the National Anthem at Smackdown that night, and although it was very hard for her it was also an enormous privilege.
Zelina points out that her father’s favourite wrestler was always The Rock, and when she got the chance to meet him she was able to share that with him. The Rock appreciated her sharing her story, and they actually became close friends. He gave her the role of “A.J. Lee” in the upcoming documentary about Paige’s life, and this got her some attention from WWE Officials.
Even though she hadn’t been wrestling for long at that time, Stephanie McMahon was reportedly impressed with her skills in the ring. She would ultimately be brought into NXT and began training and hasn’t looked back since. She informs that Vince McMahon has been very supportive and gives her advice regularly. She still can’t believe she made it to WWE, and it still blows her mind that she’s having personal discussions with people like The Rock and Vince McMahon.
She’s also having a great time working with Almas. She points out that they have a brother/sister relationship and they have a lot of fun together. Almas is helping Vega with her Spanish, and Vega is helping Almas with his English so they’ve been a great help to each other in that sense.
That sums up today’s episode of Chasing Glory. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
September 10, 2018 9:50 am
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