Wanna have @ZelinaVegaWWE take you behind the scenes of her big U.S. Title win on #SmackDown ?
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— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) April 30, 2025
Zelina Vega reflected emotionally on the night she won the WWE U.S. Title and her husband Aleister Black (Malakai) made his return, describing it as a surreal and powerful experience filled with personal and professional meaning. “I think it was more shock and disbelief than anything else because it didn’t feel real until I heard the bell ring,” Vega said of her title victory.
Though typically composed, Vega admitted she allowed herself to feel the moment fully. “It’s funny because I hate crying, but the two moments where I just allowed myself to be in the moment were the ones where I was kind of like the most raw… I felt like my eight year old self just kind of popped out and was living in that moment.”
She also addressed the perception surrounding her matches, saying, “I felt like the crowd kind of gave up on me, if I’m being honest… like, ‘Okay, this is just another match, and then she’s gonna lose’… But everybody in the arena was shocked, like everybody. Even people backstage.”
Vega explained that her nerves were unusually calm that night, largely due to her husband’s return. “I’m usually super, super nervous… but that day, because of obviously my husband coming back, I was at such an ease. It was crazy. That never, ever happens to me, so it was nice to feel kind of at ease.”
She also shared her enthusiasm for working with Chelsea Green that night, revealing the plan came together unexpectedly. “Chelsea and I coming together and wanting to do this together… we think that this is a really cool idea,” she explained, adding, “I had a lot of fun with her… loved being in the ring with her.”
The combination of her win and Black’s return felt like a pivotal life moment. “It really just felt like the fairy tale ending to that,” she said, likening the closure to her and Andrade’s exit from NXT. “It felt like after everything that both him and I had been through, it felt like, okay, that chapter of the crazy is done, and now we can start this new chapter… I think he was so ready for that. He was so ready to return home.”
Most touching for Vega, however, was a backstage moment between Triple H and Black. “Honestly, my favorite part was, obviously seeing him go out there and do what he does, but Hunter hugging him afterwards and saying, ‘Welcome home’ was really, really nice.”
Source: Busted Open Radio