Zelina Vega describes how she initially questioned her pairing with Legado del Fantasma.
Vega joined the group when they moved to WWE SmackDown in October 2022. The faction later joined forces with Rey Mysterio and become the LWO, and it remains featured on WWE TV.
Speaking with Freddie Prinze Jr. on Wrestling with Freddie, Vega asked Prinze Jr. about his previous comments that he didn’t love the pairing, as he didn’t think Santos Escobar needed a manager. Prinze Jr. explained that he came around, and he liked the way the group turned face. Vega then described how she remembered that she thought the same thing about Escobar not needing a manager, but her joining the group was meant to help the audience.
“It’s the first time ever in my career as a good guy,” Vega said. “It’s funny, I remember reading [what Prinze Jr. said] and I was like, ‘I wonder if he’s thinking that I was thinking when I first heard it.’ When I first heard it, I said the same thing. I was like, he doesn’t need me, though, because he’s a great wrestler and a great promo. Why does he need me?
“The way it was explained to me was, well, the group is new to the main roster. You’re very known by the SmackDown audience and whatever, so by putting him with you, people go, ‘Oh, okay, we already know her to be the heel manager, we know her to be the heel wrestler. If she’s introducing them, then that means that’s what they’re about. So I think it was just really to help make the transition for the fans easier to go, ‘Oh, okay, that’s who they are.’ I was like, okay, but I think since then, it’s evolved so much.”
Vega continued by describing how the group has evolved, and working with Rey Mysterio is a dream come true.
“It started there, and I didn’t even really do that much talking. But it’s evolved so much now, being with Rey, first of all, dream come true. What the hell? Eight-year-old Thea is like, ‘What is life?’ Now having Rey on our side and having LWO be a thing again, it’s crazy. Especially because Rey’s like, you’re gonna be the first female ever in LWO. It’s crazy. But I did agree with you, and I thought it was funny. I was like, considering what he knows about wrestling, I imagine he saw it through my eyes the way I saw it initially. Now it’s just, we’re wrestlers in a team, not me managing wrestlers. I’m glad that it’s evolved.”
Vega recently reflected on her match at WWE Backlash and the remarkable response she got from the crowd in Puerto Rico. More information is available here.
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