Roxanne Perez Describes Being 'Starstruck' In WWE

Roxanne Perez had an impressive rookie year in WWE after signing with the company in March. In 2022 alone, she was the inaugural winner of the "NXT" Women's Breakout tournament over the summer and later the Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline. On December 13, Perez defeated Mandy Rose to capture her first "NXT" Women's Championship at the young age of 21. Following her whirlwind of a year, the Texas native recently appeared on "WWE After The Bell" to discuss her career thus far and how her fandom led to where she is now.

"My mom would take me early to the arena to wait outside to try and meet the wrestlers, or she would take me to Gold's Gym to wait outside. I was probably that annoying little stalker kid," Perez admitted. "I always went up to every wrestler I met and was like, 'Hey, I want to be a wrestler. Do you have any advice?'" Her journey of asking wrestlers for advice landed her a cameo on "Total Divas" when talking to Natalya and The Bella Twins before a WWE event. Perez said she received good advice from all of them, which has stuck with her since she was 13.

"When I first got to WWE, it was, 'Oh my God, I'm so starstruck,' I'm surrounded by people that have inspired me since I was a kid. This was my dream, and I was blinded by all of the lights." Perez said that now her mindset going forward is that she knows she has to be the inspiration. She now gets to be the person that other people are looking up to, and she wants to be the best "NXT" Women's Champion that she can be.