10 WWE Stars Who Managed To Shake Off The 'TNA Stink'

3. Zelina Vega

Consequences Creed Xavier Woods
ImpactWrestling

In this most strangest of strange empty arena times, few people's star has shone quite as bright as Zelina Vega. With Andrade, Angel Garza, and Austin Theory now under her charge, Zelina has embraced the unique setting of the empty Performance Center and completely made the most of it.

Being perfectly honest, Vega had already become one of WWE's MVPs way before all WWE shows were taking place in a hushed, vacant locale. Whether it was in NXT or on the main roster, Zelina's charisma and confident character work had been one of the most entertaining parts of whatever WWE show she found herself on.

At the age of just 21, Zelina Vega was already on TNA television as Rosita. Barely two months into her TNA run, Rosita formed the Mexican America stable alongside Hernandez, Anarquia, and her storyline cousin Sarita. Rather than some of the others included on this list though, Rosita's stint in TNA lasted for just two years.

Having formally parted ways with TNA in 2013, the real-life Thea Trinidad competed for Ring of Honor, Shine, Global Force Wrestling, and several other independent promotions before finally signing an NXT contract in June 2017. And while some fans were a little disappointed to not see Trinidad utilised as more of an in-ring talent, there's no doubting that she has taken the Zelina Vega character and struck gold with it.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.