Zelina Vega is no longer a WWE Superstar. In a surprising move, the company released Vega from her contract. This moves shortly after she was drafted to Friday Night SmackDown in WWE’s draft.
WWE.com wrote in a statement: “WWE has come to terms on the release of Zelina Vega. We wish her all the best in her future endeavors.” Vega, whose real name is Thea Budgen, was one of the Monday Night Raw roster staples before moving over the Friday Night SmackDown. During her time on Raw this year, she managed Andrade and Angel Garza before becoming a singles competitor. In September, Vega battle Asuka twice for the Raw Women’s Championship. She lost both matches and was then drafted to SmackDown. Her last match was on Nov. 6, which was a triple-threat match against Ruby Riott and Natalya. Once WWE made the announcement, Vega sent a message to her fans.
Videos by PopCulture.com
I want to say thank you all very much for the last 3-4 years @WWEUniverse, it was incredible. I would have never have been able to say โthis is for you dadโ if certain people did not believe in me. I love you all and I couldnโt have done it without your support ๐๐ฝ pic.twitter.com/R4fI9r64Vm
โ ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ (@Zelina_VegaWWE) November 14, 2020
WWE informed PopCulture.com that Vega was terminated for breaching her contract. On Friday night, Vega went on her Twitch channel and thanked her fans for their support. She began to get emotional when she saw how many fans were on her Twitch stream.
Zelina Vega is now almost crying because her Twitch channel is flooded with support for her first live stream after her WWE release. Amazing stuff. pic.twitter.com/tdCeM0Wp1I
โ GIFSkull – The Original – ANTI-DMCA – UNLOCKED. (@GIFSkull) November 14, 2020
Vega signed with the WWE in 2017 and first appeared as Andrade’s manager in NXT. The two were brought up to the main roster in 2018 and spent time on both Raw and SmackDown. Before WWE, Vega competed in Impact Wrestling and the independent circuit. She is married to WWE Superstar Aleister Black, who currently competes on the SmackDown brand.
