Before she was Zelina Vega in WWE, Zelina competed in TNA/IMPACT under the name Rosita. Despite her limited experience, Tommy Dreamer gravitated towards Zelina and wanted to get her on TNA television.
During her time in TNA, Zelina won the Knockouts Tag Team Titles alongside Sarita and had some big backers backstage in the company.
"It was good for what it was," Zelina said of her time in TNA in an interview with Table Talk. "I was young at the time, 19 years old when I got signed. I needed that experience because it introduced me to Sarita, who is still someone I consider like my cousin. I went to Mexico and worked for CMLL, which is when I met Andrade initially, in 2011. It was good for what it was and maybe they just thought, 'we're not going to take a chance on her,' which is weird because people like you [D-Von Dudley] were always going to bat for me. Kurt Angle was always going to bat for me. Sting was always going to bat for me. I remember the day he passed by Dixie [Carter] and said, 'you should put the title on that one.' The next day, Terry Taylor said, 'We're giving you the tag titles and you're getting the pin.' It was a great experience and something I needed to grow as a performer. I needed it at the time, but now I'm the butterfly I'm supposed to be."
Zelina has spent the majority of her time in WWE as a manager alongside Andrade, but has now branched out as a singles superstar.
She is set to challenge Asuka for the Raw Women's Title this Sunday at Clash of Champions. You can view the current lineup for Clash of Champions by clicking here.