Roxanne Perez revealed that she was told to “sink or swim” on her NXT debut by Shawn Michaels.
The WWE star wrestled Jacy Jane in her NXT debut in April 2022, picking up the victory in a short match. Her career kickstarted that day and less than a year later, Roxanne Perez was the NXT Women’s Champion.
She recently spoke with Fightful during a media call and was asked about her debut in NXT. Roxanne Perez revealed that their time was cut during the match and Shawn Michaels told them it was a “sink or swim” moment.
“I think my very first match in WWE. I wrestled Jacy Jayne, and we got time cut during that match,” Roxanne Perez said. “It was my debut for NXT. I felt like they put me in a position. I remember Shawn Michaels telling me, ‘All right, we’re throwing you in the deep end. You can either sink or swim.’ And I think I swam—I swam pretty well. So, um, yeah, ever since then, I think I realized, ‘Okay, yeah, I feel comfortable, and I can’t wait to do this for the rest of my life.'”
Roxanne Perez On The Difference Between WWE & NXT
Roxanne Perez was also asked how she would manage due to the differences between wrestling in NXT and on the main roster.
She spoke about wrestling Raquel Rodriguez as a babyface, a big difference to her heel character in NXT. However, Roxanne Perez thinks Shawn Michaels prepared her well and sees no issue making that transition.
“I think Shawn Michaels does an absolutely great job at preparing us for the main roster. So, um, everything that I’ve done well in NXT, I’m bringing up with me to the main roster. And I definitely still got that edge,” Perez said. “Obviously, we had that big size difference, so I kind of had to work a little differently to find a way to get her down.”
“But I still got my same attitude,” she continued. “I think I slapped the taste out of her mouth a couple of times, which I thought was kind of funny—and I ended up with the win. So, yeah, I think everything that I’ve learned in NXT is gonna serve me well on the main roster.”
Roxanne Perez is one of the six participants in this year’s Women’s Elimination Chamber match. The titular event takes place on March 1 in Toronto, Canada. Watch how Perez reacted to qualifying for the match here.
