WWE Raw superstar Zelina Vega is showing off a fresh look.
Zelina has been out of action due to an injury. She had been involved in a tag team with Carmella and the two even held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
They eventually split after Zelina voiced her displeasure with Carmella over being too concerned with her appearance instead of focusing on winning matches. They ended up brawling during the April 4 episode of Monday Night Raw.
Fans continue to wait for Zelina to return but in the meantime, she has switched things up.
Zelina Vega’s New Look
In a new Twitter post, Zelina Vega asked her fans to remain patient for her return. Of course, she did it in her heel character.
Along with the message was an image of Zelina showcasing her new hairstyle.
Queen Tingz ????
I’m planning something veryyyy special for The Queen’s Return… patience peasants… pic.twitter.com/s26aIQ2sQT
“I’m planning something veryyyy special for The Queen’s Return… patience peasants…”
Zelina Vega on eventual return
It’ll be interesting to see when Zelina will be able to return and what the creative plans will be for her.
As of now, there have been no plans in place for the vacant WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. After Sasha Banks and Naomi were stripped of the gold, WWE promised a tournament to determine the new champions.
At a time when WWE is dealing with various stars injured such as Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton, one wrestler could be coming back from injury soon and that’s Zelina Vega.
The former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion has been absent from Raw for several weeks due to an injury that reportedly required surgery.
Vega reacted to one fan calling for her return on Twitter by stating, “Aww I know my loyal subjects your queen will return soon, I promise! I am simply allowing the … humans … to have their fun … for now.”
After becoming “Queen Zelina” by winning the inaugural Queen’s Crown Tournament in 2021, she was paired in a tag team with Carmella and they went on to hold the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. They lost the titles to Sasha Banks and Naomi at WrestleMania 38 in a Fatal 4-Way Match that also featured the teams of Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley and Natalya and Shayna Baszler.
There’s still no word on what injury Vega was dealing with, but it was expected to keep her out of action for 6-8 weeks, which would allow for her to return in time for SummerSlam on July 30 in Nashville.
Aww I know my loyal subjects 💜 your queen will return soon, I promise! I am simply allowing the .. humans.. to have their fun.. for now. @wwehttps://t.co/dU7sMlhJfy
Queen Zelina Vega has disappeared from WWE TV in recent weeks. New reports suggest that the reason behind this is an injury she suffered recently.
According to PWInsider, the winner of the Inaugural Queen’s Crown tournament has undergone surgery recently.
While the nature of her injury is not known, Vega is expected to stay out of action for another 6 to 8 weeks. This means she should be ready to return around SummerSlam.
The report also noted that the female star’s hard work and her willingness to do what was requested of her have been noticed behind the scenes.
There have been talks of the former women’s tag team champion receiving a push because of it when she makes her return to WWE programming.
Zelina Vega returned to WWE back in July 2021. She defeated Doudrop to win the Queen’s Crown tournament during the Crown Jewel PPV in October last year.
She also won the women’s tag team championship with Carmella back in November. Their reign lasted for 132 days.
Queen Zelina last wrestled during the April 4 episode of Monday Night Raw. The episode saw Bianca Belair defeating Vega in a match that lasted less than 3 minutes.
Zelina Vega is the winner of the first-ever Queen’s Crown tournament in WWE. She recently spoke with Sports Illustrated about what the win means to her and what Vince McMahon said to her after the tournament final.
“Vince walked up to me after the match in the back and said, ‘You walked in here queen, and now it’s official,’ ” Vega said. “I almost lost it.”
Vega won the match with a Code Red, which she says was a tribute to her cousin, Amazing Red.
“It was me representing my family,” Vega said of using the move. “That’s my cousin’s move. Amazing Red deserves so much credit for what he’s done, so that was for him. That was for my dad, too. And that was for me, to solidify my place and show that I belong here.”
“Queen Zelina, it feels so incredible to say that,” Vega continued. “I’m bringing it to Spanish, too—La Reina, that’s me. It feels absolutely right to say that. This is me, and it is mine.”
“It’s been a hell of a journey, and I’m looking forward to continuing my story as Queen Zelina. Every time I step into the ring, I feel like I have to prove myself. I take this opportunity in WWE very seriously. This is my time, and it starts now.”
Less than a year after being released by WWE, Zelina Vega is back in the fold and has achieved the biggest accomplishment of her career https://t.co/iXsDORnwvJ
It has certainly been an up-and-down ride for Zelina Vega in WWE. She began her career in 2010 and had a run with TNA from 2011-13 (under the name Rosita). After multiple appearances with WWE in the coming years, she eventually signed a contract with the promotion and reported to the WWE Performance Center in 2017. She was paired with Andrade as a manager and would be called up to the main roster in 2018.
In 2020, Vega was released from the promotion under controversial circumstances. She was vocally opposed to WWE’s ban on talent earning revenue from 3rd parties such as Twitch. Vega would return to the promotion in July of 2021 after 8 months away, however. She would then lose her first 8 matches back with the promotion. Vega has since won 4 straight, however. She defeated Liv Morgan on the 9/24 Smackdown before winning 3 straight in the Queen’s Crown tournament against Toni Storm, Carmella, and Doudrop.
WWE held the King of the Ring and Queen’s Crown tournament finals at this year’s Crown Jewel pay-per-view event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
On the King of the Ring side of things, Xavier Woods vs. Finn Balor went down. The back and forth match ended when Woods fought back and hit an elbow drop off the top rope.
Regarding Queen’s Crown, Doudrop vs. Zelina Vega took place. The match featured Vega controlling the action with Dewdrop fighting back throughout it. They did some near falls before Vega hit a Code Red for the win. The match went nearly six minutes.
The first round matches of the Queen’s Crown tournament saw Vega beat Toni Storm, Carmella defeat Liv Morgan, Doupdrop go over Natalya and Shayna Baszler over Dana Brooke. The semi-finals saw Vega beat Carmella and Dewdrop defeat Natalya.
For the King of the Ring, Sami Zayn beat Rey Mysterio, Finn Balor over Cesaro, Jinder Mahal defeat Kofi Kingston, and Xavier Woods over Ricochet in the first round. The semi-finals were Woods beating Mahal and Balor beating Zayn.
This was the first-ever Queen’s Crown tournament that WWE has held up to this point. All the way back to August 2019, Bayley was one person in WWE that publicly made it known she would like to see a Queen Of The Ring tournament. Two years later, WWE started making progress towards this by coming up with the Queen’s Crown name by filing a trademark for it.
On the flip side, WWE previously held the King of the Ring tournament in 2019 with Baron Corbin being crowned king.
Black and Vega are in the wrestling industry but in different promotions. The two used to be able to call WWE home. They were both released by the promotion and while Black landed on his feet in AEW, Vega ended up returning to WWE.
Being a star for a top wrestling promotion means you are bound to be on the road. During an appearance on The Zaslow Show, Malakai Black admitted that while things get tough, he and Zelina Vega knew exactly what they were getting themselves into.
“Do I see her as much as I want to? No, but we both made a conscious decision. The one we made years ago that we wanted to be professional athletes, and we know what comes with that. She’s no stranger to being on the road. She’s been doing this for 12 years, I’ve been doing this for 21 years. We made a commitment to each other, so yes, sometimes it gets tough, and yes, it requires extra travel and extra sacrifice. But at the end of the day, you have to realize it’s temporary. It’s not going to last forever.”
Black went on to say that he and Zelina are in the midst of building their own mini-performance center near Tampa. The goal is to help aspiring wrestling hone their craft and eventually wrestle for promotions.
Black also said that he sees himself having 10 more years in the wrestling business as a performer. He believes that he’ll remain as a top guy for five years, while the other half will be dedicated to elevating the next generation of talent.
A massive Twitch leak has allegedly unveiled the payouts of streamers, including WWE and AEW stars.
4Chan (via VICE) has been the home of many leaks over the years and this time, an anonymous poster shared 135GB of data revealing the payouts of popular Twitch streamers. Someone uploaded the pay wrestling streamers received on the platform, which has since been deleted on Pastebin. Fear not, we’ve got the totals here.
Severalstreamersconfirmed on Twitter that their data inside the leak is accurate. Jason Koebler of VICE also says the figures appear legitimate, based on internal knowledge of what their own channel earns.
Twitch hack/leak appears to be real, we verified by testing against our own revenue numbers https://t.co/vEIqAKNprM
The following is the Twitch revenue data for the largest wrestling-related accounts for September 2019 through September 2021.
Keep in mind, these payouts are from subscriptions and bits. They do not include donations, which is a huge chunk of pay for streamers on Twitch typically.
Paige (@SarayaOfficial) – $478,224
Zelina Vega (@theatrinidad) – $341,748
Adam Cole (@TheCHUGS) – $318,080
Impact Wrestling (@impactwrestling) – $69,140
Tyler Breeze (@thesweetzlive) – $43,755
Evil Uno (@eviluno) – $35,742
Colt Cabana (@coltcabana) – $32,479
Xavier Woods (@AustinCreed) – $25,431
As you can tell, there’s a substantial amount of money to be made on Twitch for these wrestlers. WWE has a policy in place that prevents its talent from streaming on Twitch. Paige is an exception as the rule isn’t a part of her deal and she isn’t an active wrestler.
Zelina Vega had been released by WWE over the issue of not being able to stream. She eventually ended up signing with the company again. Vega’s husband, Malakai Black, had been taking over the channel but there hasn’t been a new stream for the past month.
WWE made a strong push to re-sign Adam Cole before he decided to jump ship to AEW. Adam Cole’s wish to keep his independent Twitch channel was said to be a non-negotiable stipulation during those negotiations.
WWE nixed a tag team match from this week’s episode of SmackDown due to time restraints. People like Zelina Vega, Carmella, and Liv Morgan who were supposed to compete in this bout had later reacted to the news on Twitter.
When reports about this tag match being canceled from the Madison Square Garden show first came out, the name of the fourth participant for this bout was not known.
Now Post Wrestling’s John Pollock has provided some update on the situation. He revealed that Toni Storm was the wrestler originally scheduled to team with Liv Morgan for this SmackDown match.
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley who has recently been very vocal about the company’s mistreatment of talents commented on this situation as well. He noted how it was unfortunate that Zelina Vega didn’t get to compete on the show:
For those who don’t know, WWE had dedicated the super SmackDown episode to the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the 20th anniversary of the unfortunate incident.
Zelina Vega, who lost her father in the attack, was a big part of the promotion for this episode. Fans have since expressed their displeasure with the way WWE handled this situation and nixed her match.
Toni Storm made her official main roster debut during the July 23 episode of SmackDown. Though the former NXT UK women’s champion has not been seen on WWE programming since.
It appears that WWE had to edit the script for this week’s SmackDown on the fly and they nixed a women’s tag team match originally planned for the show.
According to reports from Fightful select, there were plans for a tag team match to take place on the show which would have seen Carmella teaming up with Zelina Vega.
The duo were expected to go against Liv Morgan and a partner whose name was not mentioned. The match was apparently cut from SmackDown due to time restraints.
The stars who were expected to compete in the bout reacted to this change on Twitter later on. Zelina Vega even posted photos of the gear she had prepared for tonight:
On a related note, the storyline with Naomi and Sonya Deville also appears to have been cut from this week’s SmackDown. There was no mention of the former SmackDown women’s champion on the show.
While it’s not confirmed, it’s likely that Naomi was expected to make her in-ring return at the show this week as the partner for Liv Morgan.
Since the officials made the decision to cut the tag team match from the show, they also had to nix any planned segments for Naomi as well.
Zelina Vega was released amidst some controversy over WWE’s new third-party edicts in November 2020. It’s believed that her firing was the result of opposing the company’s new policies. So many were surprised when she returned.
The former NXT star recently had an interview with Digital Spy. She talked about a number of things and also explained why she decided to return to the promotion.
Vega explained that she felt like she had unfinished business in WWE and becoming a champion was the reason for her return more than anything else:
“I think, more than anything, WWE has always been a place that I felt like I had some kind of unfinished business with, and, for me as a kid, you look and you’re like, ‘I want to be a champion,’
There’s so many things that you want to accomplish and coming back. I set my eyes on the SmackDown Women’s Championship,” said Zelina Vega, “And that’s what I’m focused on the most and seeing where that takes me.”
The SmackDown star also revealed that she considered returning as a babyface when she came back last month but ultimately decided against it because it made more sense storyline-wise to be a heel.
Bianca Belair is currently scheduled to defend the SmackDown women’s championship against Sasha Banks at SummerSlam. We will have to see if Zelina Vega gets a shot at the title afterward.
Zelina Vega had a dispute with WWE over their third-party edicts. These disagreements had led to the female star’s release in November 2020. So it was a surprise for many when she made her return to the company on SmackDown this week. Latest reports provide some update on how it was made possible.
According to Mike Johnson of PWInsider, there were segments in the promotion who felt that Vega should have been retained and not released when she was first let go. These segments pushed for a conversation between the two sides. They eventually succeed in their effort to start a discussion for her return.
This return was made possible when after a long period of back and forth, the WWE executives apologized to Zelina Vega and made her an offer. As for why the former NXT star herself chose to return after the manner of her firing, the site notes that both sides made amends and came to a compromise.
Vega grew up wanting to be a part of WWE. She didn’t mind returning if the air was cleared from all sides. It’s said that everyone ‘came to an understanding on the other sides’ perspective’ to make things work. When it comes to Aleister Black, some people within the company have pushed for his return too. Although as of now, there aren’t any deep discussions about his potential comeback.
Zelina Vega finally made her return to WWE programming after months of speculation last night. She made a surprise appearance on SmackDown and was added to the upcoming Money In The Bank match.
The female star took on her Twitter to comment on her return to WWE TV. She mentioned that the takeaway from her appearance on the blue brand is that she is back and she will be winning the upcoming ladder match:
“What to take from tonight: I’m back. I’m going to be in the MITB ladder match…and I will win.” wrote Zelina Vega, “Period. Everything else is irrelevant.”
What to take from tonight: I’m back. I’m going to be in the MITB ladder match. ..and I will win.
It’s interesting to note that with her return to the company, the former NXT star has deleted her old tweet about supporting unionization. She had posted the tweet on the same day as her release in 2020.
Zelina Vega has deleted her 'I support unionization' tweet from last year
— AgostoAllElite Podcast™ (Richie Agosto) (@AgostoAllElite) July 3, 2021
Zelina Vega was released from WWE back on November 13, 2020. Her dispute with the officials over WWE’s new third-party edicts was the primary reason behind her departure from the company.
The news of her potential return was first reported in May this year. She finally made her return on SmackDown this week where Sonya Deville introduced her as the newest participant for the women’s Money In The Bank match.
After weeks of rumors and speculations, Zelina Vega finally made her return to WWE programming on this week’s episode of SmackDown and secured herself a spot in the upcoming Money In The Bank match.
PWInsider provided some backstage updates on her return. The site confirms that her appearance is not a short-term deal and the female star is back with the company full time.
They also revealed that Vega was backstage for last week’s episode of the show as well but she wasn’t used. WWE officials hid her well so the news of her presence did not leak.
The former NXT star was released from WWE back in November 2020 after a three year long stint with the company. Her disagreements with the officials about WWE’s new third party edicts were a big reason behind her departure.
The news of her potential return to the company first broke out in May earlier this year. Zelina Vega finally made her return to WWE programming this week.
Sonya Deville announced that the returning star was the next participant for the women’s MITB ladder match. Vega then went on to have a singles match with Liv Morgan but she lost the bout.
Zelina Vega made her WWE return on Friday’s episode of SmackDown as she was revealed as the latest competitor in the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
Vega cut a promo about how she will win the briefcase and cash in the contract to become either the Raw, NXT, or SmackDown Women’s Champion. Liv Morgan came out and voiced her problem with Vega being given this opportunity. It led to a match between the two stars.
Back in May, Vega was at the WWE Performance Center, and at the time, it was reported she wasn’t just a visit, but rather she was being filmed for some reason there. It was added that they had been told “the working plan is for her to return to the company.”
Fightful Select reported today the plan as of three weeks ago was for Zelina to return to the WWE main roster as she was listed on internal documents in June as a female heel on the SmackDown roster. It was said the hope was to have her involved by the time Money in the Bank rolled around.
Last November, she was released by WWE after having issues with the company’s new policy regarding talent making deals with third party companies like Twitch. At the time, Sports Illustrated reported that it was due to her breaching her contract.
There is no update on Vega’s husband, Aleister Black, after he was released by WWE and is currently waiting for his 90-day non-compete clause to expire. The belief is he’ll be headed to AEW although there was some talk within WWE that he shouldn’t have been cut.
Aleister Black has given his first public comments about WWE releasing his wife, Zelina Vega, last year. Back in November, there were reports that Vega breached her WWE contract by creating ‘OnlyFans’ account and charging subscribers $30 per month for premium content.
Vega was also an active Twitch streamer and noncompliant with WWE’s new policy that has talent hand over third-party accounts. Black was still with the company until he was released on June 2nd due to budget cuts.
Black spoke about Vega’s release during an appearance on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast.
“Two weeks before I came back and hit Big E, I sat down with Vince and he was like, ‘Are you ready?’ One week later, I’m sitting in the gym and I see a name on the phone calling me. It was a distinct voice and this person also didn’t understand why I was let go. It was a sense of relief. They let my wife go, under reasons that are questionable. Everything got sorted out and is fine, but they called me and said, ‘We understand this is putting you in a tough spot.’ Nope, this is my career, I spoke about it with her and this is business between you and her. Does Tom, her husband have an opinion on it? Sure. Does Aleister Black the professional? Nope. He’s ready to go to work and create. She agreed,” he said.
It was reported last month that Vega was at the WWE Performance Center with plans for her to return to the company. Neither Vega or WWE has confirmed the plans just yet.
WWE announced the release of Zelina Vega back in November 2020. Since then she has been very vocal about the WWE third party bans they place on their stars. This is a subject of recent discussion, with Xavier Woods recently talking about why Up Up Down Down is not on Twitch.
Since her departure, Zelina Vega has created accounts on both OnlyFans and Twitch. More to the point, her income from these sources is reportedly higher than that of her initial WWE deal.
Yet, despite this, Vega has been seen at the performance center in recent weeks. She was even seen shooting some video footage with Simone Johnson. Source have since confirmed that WWE creative are working on a new angle to bring Zelina Vega back into WWE.
There are no details on when this is likely to be. However, it will be on the main roster, rather than a return to NXT.
During her previous run, WWE used Zelina Vega primarily as a valet. It stands to reason that she will be used predominantly in the same capacity on her return. Vega is married to Aleister Black, who recently made his return to Smackdown, interrupting a fatal-four-way match for the Intercontinental title.
Simone Johnson was recently seen modelling for Aleister Black’s new clothing range and has been shooting footage with Zelina Vega in recent weeks. Could this mean that she will be returning to aid her real-life husband and further develop his new character?
In whatever guise Vega makes her return, it also remains to be seen what will happen with her third party commitments.
Thea Trinidad, better known to wrestling fans as Zelina Vega, is expected to return to WWE. The 30-year-old had been released from the promotion in November after speaking out regarding the company’s position on not allowing talent to engage with 3rd parties such as Twitch or Cameo.
According to a report from Fightful, Vega was at the WWE Performance Center today and was filming content. She is expected to be returning to the company.
This news comes after reports that she had signed a short-term deal with a company in March but details regarding what company that was were never revealed. It was reported that she would not being going to AEW anytime soon because of this deal, however.
“Trinidad has signed a deal,” wrote Dave Meltzer in March. “We don’t know with who or even that if it’s with a wrestling promotion, but the deal she signed would not allow her to work for another wrestling company and it was not with AEW. It was a somewhat short-term thing and the door wasn’t shut on her eventually working with AEW but it won’t be any time imminently.”
Tony Khan had previously expressed interest in signing Vega as well.
“She was in a non-compete last time I checked. I’ve been waiting for that… I don’t talk to people when they have the non-compete,” Khan said on Wrestling Observer Radio in March. “I’ve been waiting on her non-compete to expire… when we get through this tournament and through this pay-per-view, I’d be interested to see where she’s at.”
Zelina Vega could be receiving a phone call with AEW President Tony Khan in the near future.
Khan said he’s interested in talking with the former WWE star during an appearance on the Thursday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio. He was asked about his interest in her, which he thought that she was still under a 90-day non-compete clause, which he has been waiting to pass before he could legally speak with her.
“When we get through his (Women’s title eliminator tournament) and through (Revolution), I would be interested to see where she’s at,” he said.
Last November, she was released by WWE after having issues with the company’s new policy regarding talent making deals with third party companies like Twitch.
Vega has an OnlyFans account, which is for cosplays only, and streams on Twitch. At the time, Sports Illustrated reported that it was due to her breaching her contract. It was later clarified that wrestlers can use the likes of YouTube and Twitch, but must use their real names to do so.
It was reported by Fightful Select that her non-compete clause expired earlier this month, which means she’s free and clear to sign with any promotion that she wants whether that’s to be a wrestler or a manager.
Zelina Vega was recently asked if she was friends with Becky Lynch. According to her response, Lynch was someone who really supported Zelina after she was released by WWE.
“True, she’s one of the people that was really there for me after I left. I’ll always appreciate her,” Zelina wrote.
Zelina Vega was released from WWE this November following the implementation of the company’s new policy on 3rd party accounts. She spoke about the experience on her Twitch stream.
“The past week has been hell. Literal hell. Friday was the worst day of my life, well, since 2001,” Vega said. “When you hear about me in the social media world, sometimes misinformation can be spread.”
“I thought people were going to look at me like the devil. Let’s just say that the narrative has been spun completely out of control and is completely wrong,” Vega continued. “When people see the real story that I put out, that’s who I am. I’ve learned to grow as a person. I’ve known to realize my worth and stand up for who I am, and appreciate the things I’ve gotten along the way.”
“According to one person in the company with knowledge of the situation, she was told about it by Mark Carrano, asked to talk to Vince McMahon and Carrano told her that he doesn’t want to talk to you and [she] was escorted out of the building.”
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed Zelina Vega’s release from WWE.
Thea Trinidad/Vega’s release came as a shock last weekend, and may questions have been raised regarding WWE and their ongoing ‘independent contractor’ status for their on-air talent. Bully Ray would give his perspective on the situation, saying that there may be more than meets the eye.
Bully would also address Aleister Black’s situation now in WWE. When talents leave the company and their partners are still on contract? It’s not always plain sailing, with Ray suggesting that Lana is a major example of this.
Lana has been put through the announcer’s table on RAW over the past few weeks, and he indicates (as many fans have) that this is clearly due to her husband leaving the company and heading to AEW. This whilst Miro/Rusev has made disparaging comments about WWE pubicaly and on AEW Dynamite.
Bully Ray on Aleister Black
“Obviously, Rusev comes on this show, says something that WWE doesn’t like, and now his wife is paying for it” Bully Ray began on Busted Open. “And she has been paying for it. Now whether you like it, or you don’t like it? Blah blah blah. Trust me, that’s what’s going on.”
“It’s gonna be interesting to see what goes on with Aleister Black” Bully Ray would continue. “Because, of course, they let Thea (Zelina Vega) go. He might be just fine? But now let’s see if they toy with him. This is how they [WWE] get you.”
Do you think that WWE will mess with Black on television? Let us know in the comments
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed Zelina Vega’s release from WWE.
Thea Trinidad/Vega’s release came as a shock last weekend, and may questions have been raised regarding WWE and their ongoing ‘independent contractor’ status for their on-air talent. Bully Ray would give his perspective on the situation, saying that there may be more than meets the eye.
“To see the situation surface value? I obviously understand why so many people would be pissed off” Bully Ray began on the show. “But when you’re looking at the surface? When you’re looking at the tip of the iceberg? All you’re seeing is the tip. The majority of the iceberg lies beneath and that’s where the truth lies, all the way beneath.”
Bully Ray on Zelina Vega
Bully Ray would then discuss how the situation is more based on business rather than personal issues. “I’ve said this before when it comes to many instances with talent in the WWE. This is not a ‘hey we don’t like you Thea so we’re not letting you do your Twitch or your YouTube’ or whatever extracurricular things she was doing.”
“It has nothing to do with personal stuff” Bully Ray continued. “This is all business. What people need to realise is this: when you sign a WWE contract as an independent contractor? They basically own every single thing you do. Period. End of story.”
Ray would then talk specifics about WWE contracts, saying “there are paragraphs in a WWE contract that specifically talk about what Thea and other talents are doing with Twitch and third party [sites]. Does it name Twitch by name? I don’t know. An updated version of a WWE contract probably does say Twitch, I don’t know, but I’m sure it specifically outlines Twitch, or YouTube or Cameo or any of these other avenues in which WWE wrestlers can use their persona, name, or likeness to earn extra money that WWE is not in control of.”
Where do you think Zelina Vega/Thea Trinidad will end up? Let us know in the comments
WWE announced Zelina Vega’s release Friday afternoon, just minutes after she tweeted her support for unionization. Her abrupt departure from the company and the subsequent fallout have been one of the top stories we’ve been tracking over the past week.
Vega issued a heartfelt message thanking WWE for the experience, as well as several key people who believed in her and helped her achieve the success that she did. She would later describe the past week as “literal hell.”
A new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter states that Vega was unceremoniously escorted out of the building at Friday’s SmackDown taping after Vince McMahon refused to meet with her:
“According to one person in the company with knowledge of the situation, she was told about it by Mark Carrano, asked to talk to Vince McMahon and Carrano told her that he doesn’t want to talk to you and [she] was escorted out of the building.”
WWE has publicly confirmed that Zelina Vega was released because she breached her contract. Vega is a popular online streamer. In addition to her very lucrative presence on Twitch, she also recently launched an account on OnlyFans, where people can subscribe for $30/month to receive exclusive videos and photos of “cosplays, lingerie, swimsuits and more.”
News of Zelina Vega’s clash with WWE has caught the attention of politician Andrew Yang, as well as the prominent Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) labor union. Her fallout with WWE has brought renewed attention to WWE’s questionable classification of talent as independent contractors.
Zelina Vega has revealed how the past week has been a “literal hell” for her following her WWE release. Taking to her Twitch account for a live stream, Vega shared how difficult the past seven days have been, noting how Friday was one of the worst days of her life.
“The past week has been hell. Literal hell. Friday was the worst day of my life, well, since 2001,” Vega said. “When you hear about me in the social media world, sometimes misinformation can be spread.”
Vega explained how it was important for her fans to get to really know her. She noted how she was “someone who let people walk all over me.” Vega opened up about her insecurities and would often not stand up for herself. Following the announcement of her WWE release, she admitted she expected the “absolute worst” on her social media.
“I was pleasantly surprised. I thought people were going to look at me like the devil. Let’s just say that the narrative has been spun completely out of control and is completely wrong,” Vega said. “When people see the real story that I put out, that’s who I am. I’ve learned to grow as a person. I’ve known to realize my worth and stand up for who I am, and appreciate the things I’ve gotten along the way.”
Since her release from the company, Zelina Vega has reportedly had a “very powerful” conversation with SAG-AFTRA in relation to her support for unionization within pro wrestling.
WWE Hall of Famer Booker T has shared his thoughts on Zelina Vega’s recent WWE release, noting how Vega is one of his “Fav 5” who had been on her way up in the company.
Booker T addressed her release during a recent episode of his podcast, The Hall of Fame. He shared how “She was coming up and one day she’s here, the next day she’s gone. Watching her on her Twitch Channel talk about it broke my heart watching her cry.”
Booker T shared how he’s sad to see her go as he thought she was incredibly talented. He believed Vega was the kind of Superstar that “really made a huge difference as far as the card.”
Booker T then expressed how other Superstars who used third-party social media like Vega will now have to “figure out how this thing is going to work” going forward.
“Guys, figure it out because at the end of the day, it’s a bigger picture,” Booker T said. “At the end of the day, you hope the pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow or you have someone like Zelina who said I created that pot of gold for myself. I can appreciate that as well but I wanted to say above all, I’m going to miss her because she was talent.”
He revealed how he talked to Green only a few weeks ago about how he was using her match against Charlotte Flair as a study match for his classes.
“I was showing a match with her against Charlotte Flair. It was a match she had in NXT. I was talking about how green Chelsea was and how experienced Charlotte was and the difference between the two of them and how they were working in that same match with each other,” Booker T explained. “You can see and notice the difference between the two. None of it was the big things they did. All of it was the small things. That’s what Chelsea needs to work on. “
Booker T admitted he didn’t see what caused Green’s injury. He added how he noticed how she was moving in the ring. According to him, she didn’t “really pay attention to where she was going before she started her trip. It seemed like she would get on a road and start going and then she would pull out the GPS and figure out on the road where she was. You can’t do that in this business.”
He then shared how he always says people need to learn how to “navigate” their way through a match. Booker T extrapolated this, saying that people needed to know where they were going before they got there, something he argued Chelsea Green didn’t do.
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry recently discussed WWE releasing Zelina Vega. The story broke over the weekend and is the hottest topic in wrestling, bringing the ‘independent contractor’ status of WWE on-screen performers into question once again.
“I was a little shocked but I wasn’t completely surprised” Mark Henry began on the latest episode of Busted Open Radio. “Because I know how much of a Twitch and social media maven that she is. And it was gonna be hard to get her not to do Cameos, it would be hard to get her not to do Twitch, and so on, and so on.”
Zelina Vega’s Parting Gifts
“I mean you just look at Halloween? Like she dressed up like three or four different people” Henry continued. “This cosplay stuff and having relationships with the fans based on all the characters that she played. So, I didn’t see her dropping it, there’s a couple other people that I didn’t see dropping it.”
Several people in the arts and entertainment industry have rallied behind Zelina Vega in the aftermath of the release. SAG-AFTRA have also declared that they’re looking at helping professional wrestlers to “secure the protections they deserve.”
Avid Streamer Thea Trinidad (Zelina Vega)
Mark Henry would then reveal that Zelina Vega was aware that she would be getting the axe from WWE before the news was officially released.
“But the thing about it is? She knew she got…and this is this comes from good authority, I don’t release my sources. It comes from good authority that she knewbefore they gave her the future endeavor speech. Then she was like ‘well I’m gonna leave some parting gifts.'”
