Raquel Rodriguez Faced Backlash for No-Makeup Look at WWE Elimination Chamber Amid Health Struggles

Rodriguez previously revealed that she had been diagnosed with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and had been absent for several months following the RAW after Elimination Chamber. While she is now back, Rodriguez has revealed that she received backlash from people online for her look during Elimination Chamber.

While speaking on WrestleRant, Rodriguez revealed her struggles with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome during her trip to the Elimination Chamber event. After wrestling on Monday night and putting on makeup for the first time in months, she quickly flew to Australia. During the flight, her face became swollen, looking like she had been stung by bees. She took antihistamines like Benadryl, hoping the swelling would go down, but it did not.

“It was, um, it was definitely a tough trip, you know? Like, I had just returned that Monday night, and so—I mean—I hadn’t worn makeup in months. I put makeup on that Monday night, and I don’t know if it was that, um, it could have been the wrestling or the jumping onto a plane to get to Australia right away, but my face on the plane just blew up. It decided to just get swollen, like I had been stung by a million bees—yeah. So the whole time on the plane, I’m popping Benadryl. I’m like, ‘Sleep it off, sleep it off. It’ll go down. Just sleep, just sleep.’

When Raquel Rodriguez landed, the swelling and redness were still there, and she had to see a doctor for a steroid shot. The reaction made her feel uncomfortable and self-conscious, so she spent most of her time in her hotel room instead of exploring Australia.

“And, um, finally when we landed, I woke up, and it was not gone. It was still very prominently there. So I did have to go see doctors and get a steroid shot. And I kind of hid out for most of the trip, you know? As much as I wanted to see beautiful Australia and explore, I kind of hid myself in my hotel room because I just was not feeling, um, great. You know, I was red, I was rashy, it was dry, it was crusty—it was just not cool.”

Despite all this, Raquel was determined to compete in the match. She told herself that she didn’t travel all the way to Australia just to miss out. While she felt nervous about performing without makeup and worried about how fans might react, she went out and gave it her all. Raquel Rodriguez then revealed that she did get backlash online from fans for not wearing any makeup, which is something she wasn’t surprised about whatsoever.

“Finally, the day came for the show, and we were so worried if I was going to get to perform or not. And I told myself, ‘I did not fly all the way to Australia to not get in that chamber and perform. I’m not going to not do this.’ So I just—I had to keep telling myself that whole day, you know? I was like, ‘We’re going to do this. No makeup, red, we’re going to go out there, we’re going to perform, and we’re going to do it with bells ringing. We’re going to go out there like nothing is absolutely wrong because, in my mind, once I step out of that curtain, nothing is wrong.’

Leading up to that, it was definitely hard. You see these… it’s so hard being a girl, you know? Like, I hate to be that girl, but I’ve always been a tomboy. But you get so involved in, like, wanting looks, and the hair, and the makeup, and the cool eyeshadow to go with your cool outfit. And so I’m sitting there, and I’m like, ‘Oh, you guys look so great. You guys look so pretty. Um, I’m just gonna go over here and get distracted so I don’t have to deal and watch this.’

And even going out in front of that many people—not everyone knowing what was going on—you know, I knew there was going to be some backlash, which there was. There were a few people who were like, ‘Oh, Raquel’s real brave for coming out here with no makeup. She looks like gaka,’ and blah blah blah, you know? But nobody knew what was going on, which is fine. I just told myself, ‘One day my story will get out there. People will know, and hopefully, it inspires other people.’

Rodriguez’s status for Elimination Chamber was also touch and go. Regardless, she ultimately preserved and conquered her skin condition and is now focused on her upcoming match at Survivor Series, where she will be competing in the Women’s WarGames match. Therefore, fans are looking forward to seeing how Raquel Rodriguez will fare in the highly anticipated match, as it’s clear she didn’t let online backlash affect her.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.

Does Raquel Rodriguez’s story inspire you, or do you think fans need to be more understanding about what wrestlers face outside the ring? Let us know in the comments.