Booker T picks 21-year-old WWE star as Rookie of the Year (Exclusive)
WWE legend Booker T recently picked NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez as the Rookie of the Year in the Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards.
Perez is one of WWE's brightest prospects, having joined the company a little less than a year back in March 2022. She quickly became one of the biggest babyfaces in NXT upon her debut for the former black-and-gold brand.
After winning the NXT Women's Breakout Tournament, Roxanne Perez quickly jumped the ladder and became a contender for the women's title. The 21-year-old performer eventually won the gold by defeating Mandy Rose on the December 13, 2022, episode of WWE NXT, thus ending the year on a high.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling, Booker T, who trained Roxanne Perez in Reality of Wrestling, picked her as the Rookie of the Year. The WWE legend also confessed to being a little partial in favor of his former student.
"I'm a little partial but it goes to Roxanne Perez," said Booker T. (0:25 - 0:30)
Check out the full video below:
The voting lines for the annual Sportskeeda Wrestling Awards are open now! Make your picks here right now.
Mandy Rose on losing her WWE NXT Women's Championship to Roxanne Perez
It's no secret that the decision to crown Perez stemmed from WWE and Mandy Rose's conflict over the latter's FanTime content.
As such, mere hours after Rose dropped her NXT Women's Championship to Roxanne Perez, she was released from the company. In a recent interview, Mandy Rose spoke about feeling bad for Perez as the match was rushed and bemoaned how it wasn't promoted as much as it should have been.
"I felt bad for Roxanne because she's so amazing and I really do love her as a person (...) Anytime you're getting told you're winning the title is very exciting but I felt bad because I felt like it was rushed. There was no promotion leading up to it. She had just won the match, being the number one contender. We were gonna build on that eventually. And it would really be a really good feud. And I know her family would come to the shows. Her sister I've met, so I felt like that she could have had her family there. So, it was just rushed and I just felt bad," Rose said.
What's next for the champ?
@roxanne_wwe #WWENXT https://t.co/WqwIoMRi7m
Roxanne Perez also participated in the 2023 Women's Royal Rumble Match, where she had a short but impactful four-minute stay in the bout.
You can check out many promising young talents in action in Reality of Wrestling, a Texas-based wrestling promotion owned by Booker T.
If any quotes are used from this article, please embed the YouTube link and credit Sportskeeda Wrestling.