"This is where you really get tested" - Raquel Rodriguez on her seven-year friendship with WWE SmackDown star
Raquel Rodriguez is among WWE's rising stars in the women's division. She made her main roster debut last year after a five-year run in NXT, where she was known as Raquel Gonzalez. Rodriguez recently spoke about her history with fellow SmackDown star Shotzi.
The 32-year-old star has been seen on WWE TV numerous times over the last couple of months alongside Shotzi. As it turns out, the duo have been friends off-screen since their NXT tryouts many years ago.
Speaking to Joel Pearl of Fightful, Raquel Rodriguez discussed her relationship with Shotzi and how she approached her first gimmick match, a Street Fight, against her friend. The bout was a major test at that point in her career, according to the former NXT Women's Champion.
"Shotzi was actually in my tryouts. So we both had our tryouts with NXT, I believe it was in 2016. She looked completely different. She was the only girl there that actually had wrestling experience at the time because I had just started out. My father was only letting me roll around and train with a select few. So my knowledge of wrestling was very, very minimal. So I’ve known her since then."
Rodriguez continued:
"Then getting the opportunity to know that I would go with EVOLVE and have my first gimmick [match] — a street fight is what it was. So we were using chairs, we were using my bull rope, we were using ladders. That was the first time I ever had a match like that and it was against Shotzi. She was already known for being this hardcore super ready to do whatever and take whatever type of person. I was like, ‘Alright, this is where you really get tested if you want to do this.' Cause you gotta shut up or you gotta put up, and we’re gonna do it, dang it." (H/T Fightful)
Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi #SmackDown #RaquelRodriguez #Shotzi https://t.co/bvLXeskoQ4
Raquel Rodriguez claims she gave a top WWE star her best match to date. Read more here.
The WWE SmackDown star on her first ladder match in NXT
Over the years, Raquel Rodriguez and Shotzi have maintained a good friendship, according to the former. Their trust in one another has helped them experiment more on WWE TV.
In the aforementioned interview, Rodriguez recalled her ladder match against Shotzi, which took place a few days before WWE NXT Takeover: WarGames back in 2020.
"It was really, really fun because I felt like we built a good friendship, a good bond, a good amount of trust where we could now bring that into NXT. My first ladder match was with Shotzi in NXT. I feel like our friendship has really grown over time and getting to tag with her on SmackDown and work against her on Smackdown. It’s been really, really fun to have those moments with her," Rodriguez said.
4th - Shotzi Blackheart vs Raquel Gonzalez in a Ladder Match on NXT 💛 https://t.co/DRjUB5os3O
As of this writing, Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan have qualified for the Women's WrestleMania 39 Showcase fatal four-way tag team match. Meanwhile, Shotzi is yet to be added to the card.