WWE Superstar Zelina Vega recently opened up on the “Ring The Bell” podcast about her difficult path to WWE, including eight rejections from the company — and how Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson played a pivotal role in changing her life just as she was ready to give up.
“Quite a lot, yes, and it was no every single time,” Vega said about her string of failed WWE tryouts. Despite her passion and determination, she noted that early auditions didn’t allow her to showcase her strongest asset — her promo skills.
The turning point came when Vega portrayed AJ Lee in the The Rock-produced film Fighting With My Family. WWE officials saw her cut a promo during a live scene taping and invited her to a WWE promo class. There, she was asked to cut a promo about Andrade — a moment that would finally lead to her being signed.
“They got to see me do AJ’s promo in front of the audience… and that’s when they’re like, oh, okay… why don’t you come in and, like, cut this promo about this guy Andrade,” Vega recalled.
But just before this breakthrough, Vega was ready to walk away from the industry entirely — and that’s when The Rock stepped in.
“There was a day that I was like, I don’t even know at that point how many ‘nos.’ I think it was my eighth ‘no’ from WWE… I’m just done with entertainment,” Vega said. “And [The Rock] was like, ‘Give me, like, three days. I’m working on something. Don’t abandon ship just yet.’”
That “something” turned out to be Fighting With My Family. The Rock personally called Vega with the opportunity, giving her a new path forward.
“Even still, saying it now… that is crazy. That’s a part of my life story.”
The film led to WWE seeing her potential — especially her mic work — which had gone overlooked for years.
Vega also credited Tommy Dreamer for giving her the first break in her wrestling career by bringing her into TNA (Impact Wrestling) as Rosita, where she went on to win the Knockouts Tag Team Championship.
“He was the one that saw me at a show… He told me the truth, said what I needed to fix… and got me a tryout at TNA. I was signed on the spot because of my promo.”
From eight WWE rejections to starring in a Rock-produced film, winning gold in Impact, and building a respected WWE career — Vega’s story is one of resilience, connections, and never giving up on your dreams.
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(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
