"She's not Rey Mysterio" - Former WCW Champion on top WWE Superstar being "tiny" (Exclusive)
WWE veteran Vince Russo opened up about Zelina Vega, saying she's a little "tiny" to win the Money in the Bank contract and compared her to Rey Mysterio.
Vega is slowly emerging to be one of the best babyfaces on SmackDown. She received an unexpected massive response at Backlash 2023, where she challenged Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women's Title in Puerto Rico.
Though Zelina Vega fell short of capturing the gold, the crowd showered love on her, giving her a standing ovation after the match. Since then, the 32-year-old has come into her own as a performer. She also recently qualified for the 2023 Women's Money in the Bank match by defeating Lacey Evans.
On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo, Vince Russo stated that Vega was too "tiny" to win the MITB match. The former WWE personality also mentioned that as talented as Zelina Vega might be, she wasn't at Rey Mysterio's level, an athlete who became a main eventer despite his size.
"See, my problem is, she's tiny. But she's not Rey Mysterio," said Vince Russo. [2:57 - 3:10]
Check out the full video below:
WWE legend Dutch Mantell is a fan of Zelina Vega
A few weeks back on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell spoke about how he's been a fan of Zelina Vega for a long time.
The former WWE manager thinks the promotion's higher-ups were possibly compelled to push her on SmackDown after seeing the reaction she generated at Backlash 2023.
"I really think she deserves a chance. Me and Sid were fans of her from a long time ago, way way back. They were just abusing the sh*t out of that girl. All the other girls were bigger than her and that's what you feels for a babyface. They're smaller and they're fighting. She loses, and she loses, and she loses. Then I think, when she went to Puerto Rico and they saw that reaction from that Hispanic crowd, they said wait a minute, we might need to be using this lady a bit differently," said Dutch Mantell.
First Lady Of #LWO
ZELINA VEGA X MITB
@WWE #RAW
The WWE Universe is a force that I’ve never felt before.. and come Money In The Bank.. I’m bringing you all with me. It’s US VS THEM! Together we win. https://t.co/uGW6PBu76E
It remains to be seen if Zelina Vega manages to climb up the ladder and unhook the contract at WWE Money in the Bank 2023 on July 1st.
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