Rival praises Rhea Ripley for helping star who was "dying to break out and shine" (Exclusive)
Natalya recently spoke about Rhea Ripley and Zelina Vega's match from Backlash 2023, which had the Puerto Rico crowd on the edge of their seats.
Though the fans are generally loud and vocal during WWE's premium live events, the atmosphere was molten hot at Backlash 2023. The Puerto Rico crowd cheered at the top of their lungs throughout the night.
Zelina Vega received one of the best reactions of the event during her entrance as well as after her match with Rhea Ripley, even though she fell short of securing the victory.
In a chat with Bill Apter of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Natalya pointed out how Vega looked like a massive star when she made her entrance at the event. Furthermore, the former Divas Champion praised Zelina Vega and Rhea Ripley for putting up a match so good that the crowd couldn't stop cheering even after it ended.
The Queen of Harts singled out The Eradicator, mentioning how she helped Zelina Vega have the biggest moment of her career at Backlash 2023.
"But then I saw what Rhea Ripley did with Zelina Vega in Puerto Rico. Zelina Vega came out looking like a bigger star than ever before, and I think that's a testament to the work that she and Rhea did together. It takes two to be able to do that. So I looked at that, and I was like cool, Rhea helped Zelina give that moment because Zelina was just dying to break out and shine," said Natalya. [4:57 - 5:22]
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Rhea Ripley praised Zelina Vega after Backlash 2023
Though Ripley seldom breaks character, even in interviews, she made an exception when she spoke about Zelina Vega after Backlash 2023.
Appearing on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg, the Women's World Champion mentioned how Vega was visibly choked up while making her entrance with the Puerto Rican flag.
"Then seeing her walk out with the flag, go to her family, have them get in the ring, and then get so emotional live on camera when I know that she's not a very emotional showing person, especially that sort of emotion. She's normally a little angry Gremlin. It was hard for me to sort of play off it in the way that Rhea Ripley would," said Ripley.
ZELINA VEGA, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN https://t.co/8aZhFjNnrc
Zelina Vega also competed in the recent Women's MITB match, where she had a memorable showing even though she couldn't unhook the contract.
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