Ronda Rousey Challenged by Underrated ‘WWE SmackDown’ Superstar

Ronda Rousey is being challenged by a WWE Superstar who is on the rise. Zelina Vega ecently went to Twitter to issue a challenge to Rousey, the current SmackDown Women’s Champion. In the tweet, Vega celebrated her birthday and said her only wish is battling Rousey. 

Vega missed half of the year due to an injury and is currently the manager of the group Legado Del Fantasma. She has not competed in a match on WWE TV since April but was getting a major push as she won the first-ever Queen’s Crown Tournament and the Women’s Tag Team Championship with Carmella last year. In an interview with Busted Open Radio, Vega talked about how she’s been able to have different roles in WWE. 

“I’m the person you can trust,” she said, per Fightful. “I’m the person where, when you need to have something done, when you need something to be good, when you need something to be over, you choose me. It makes perfect sense. The group that I’m with, they want to succeed, they want to upgrade, what do they do? They call me. Going forward, I’ve upgraded other people, I’ve upgraded myself, I feel now I’m on a completely different level. It’s just going to get better and better and I’m excited for everyone to see.”

Vega also opened up about managing Legado Del Fantasma. “The nice thing is, I feel I have a little more control over where I’m going now,” she said. “Now, people are able to see me in a similar light, but they have no idea what’s going to come after this. They have no idea why I’m with the group I’m with. I think all of these questions are going to be answered soon. That’s the fun part. You keep having people wanting more. One thing people have always wanted to see is, ‘when is Zelina going to be in the title picture? When is Zelina going to be the leader for herself?’ I’m gonna be, but I’ve never aligned myself with people that I didn’t see as stars. This group is on another level.”

Rousey won the SmackDown Women’s title for the second time in October. She won the title the first time in May, beating Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania Backlash. Rousey started 2022 by winning the women’s Royal Rumble match in January. That was her first appearance on WWE TV since WrestleMania 35 in 2019.