Roxanne Perez Didn’t Expect To Win NXT Women’s Championship

Mandy Rose established herself as one of the greatest champions on the NXT brand, having held the NXT Women’s Championship for an impressive 413 days. However, the former champion’s refusal to comply with WWE’s family-friendly policy led to her release from the company last year. This paved the way for Roxanne Perez to become the next NXT Women’s Champion, but the former Women of Honor Champion didn’t see her NXT Women’s Title win coming so soon.

Roxanne Perez earned a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship by winning the Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline. Perez’s title shot was supposed to happen at NXT New Year’s Evil, but things were sped up due to Mandy Rose’s release from the company. Perez’s title shot was moved up to the December 13th episode of NXT, where Perez ended up breaking Rose’s 413-day streak with the NXT Women’s title

While speaking on Faction 919, Perez reflected on winning the NXT Women’s Title. She described the whole journey to be unreal as the whole thing unfolded on such short notice. She also appreciated the support she received from former champion Mandy Rose.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen that day. It was a mix of emotions because I didn’t have time to soak it in, ‘Alright, this is happening right now.’ Expect the unexpected. Obviously, Mandy, I think she is amazing. Since I got to NXT, she is always someone I could go to, and she didn’t have to be so as giving and sweet to me as she was because she had been there for so long. For her to be such a good human being, I was always so grateful for her. In a way, I was a little sad, because of the way it was happening, but she was so supportive and being like, ‘You deserve this.’ It made it so much more special.

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To have Booker T, my trainer, on commentary. My boyfriend was also there as well, he was a big part of my training and me becoming a wrestler. To have them there and when they gave me the championship, holding it in my hands, it didn’t feel real until that moment. Everything I went through, all the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs of this wrestling journey that I’ve been on since I was 13, all those moments were so worth it. It was finally real and it finally happened. It was crazy,” 

Booker T and Perez share a special relationship as he mentored Perez at his Reality of Wrestling school. He showed his support to his protege after she won the NXT Women’s Championship

Roxanne Perez is set for her first defense with the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Vengeance Day. The title defense will have her up against Rose’s running mates in Toxic Attraction, Jacy Jayne, and Gigi Dolin in a triple-threat match at NXT Vengeance Day.

As for Mandy Rose, the former champion has been doing pretty well for herself outside WWE. However, she’s still pretty bummed over not being able to run her Fantime Subscription in tandem with her pro wrestling career in WWE. For more updates, stay tuned to Ringside News.

How do you feel about Roxanne Perez as the new NXT Women’s Champion? Let us know how you feel in the comments below!