"Wow, I belong here" - Current champion believed she belonged in Royal Rumble

The Women's Royal Rumble match featured a lot of surprise entrants this year.

One of the biggest surprises was the inclusion of NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez. The young WWE Superstar entered at number eight but was eventually eliminated by Damage CTRL.

Roxanne Perez was a recent guest on Busted Open Radio with Dave LaGreca, Tommy Dreamer, and Mickie James to discuss a wide variety of subjects. When asked about competing in her first-ever Royal Rumble match on Saturday, Perez said she was nervous at first, but when she walked down the aisle towards the ring, she realized she belonged there.

"The Royal Rumble, I was so nervous in the days leading up to it. Growing up as a kid, the top two pay-per-views that I always wanted to be in were the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania," Roxanne Perez said. "So, I was like, 'I don't know how I'm going to do it, I'm going to walk out as the countdown ends, crying my eyes out.' I walked out and I didn't cry at all, which I was proud of myself. When I won the championship, it was like, 'Wow, I can't believe this is real.' When I walked out at the Royal Rumble it was more of, 'Wow, I belong here. I've worked so hard for this. I'm here and I did it and I belong here.'" [H/T: Fightful]

Safe to say @WWENXT #WWENXT Women's Champion @roxanne_wwe is very confident ahead of #VengeanceDay 👊

She sits down w/ @davidlagreca1 @THETOMMYDREAMER @MickieJames & the full interview can be heard on today's @BustedOpenRadio podcast RIGHT NOW:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rox… https://t.co/77235o1Hb5

Roxanne Perez didn't win the Royal Rumble, but former NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley did

The current NXT Women's Champion didn't win the Women's Rumble match this year. However, former NXT Women's Champion Rhea Ripley ran the gauntlet and won the match for the first time.

Roxanne Perez understands that being NXT Women's Champion could help set her up for great success on the WWE main roster and feels a lot more confident in herself than she did just a few months ago.

"Yeah, I think it's changed a little bit from — obviously, I'm still a fan at heart and I'm always gonna be, but it's changed from getting signed and being like, 'Wow, I can't believe it,' to 'Wow, I can believe it.' I don't deserve it, but I worked hard for it." [H/T: Fightful]

.@RheaRipley_WWE on going the distance with @YaOnlyLivvOnce at the #RoyalRumble

📺: youtu.be/a1MU-oB8BxA https://t.co/B7QyuEOWkC

What do you make of Roxanne Perez's comments? Do you think she'll be on the WWE main roster in time for the 2024 Women's Rumble match? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.