Raquel Rodriguez Says Shift To NXT 2.0 Was A Confusing Time For The Women's Locker Room

When "WWE NXT" drastically shifted to the "NXT 2.0" era in the fall of 2021, several stars were either lost in the mix or had their gimmicks changed to fit the new direction. Raquel Rodriguez was part of that as she lost her "NXT" Women's Championship to Mandy Rose, who was taking over the women's division as the leader of Toxic Attraction. Ahead of WrestleMania 39, Rodriguez spoke to "The Ringer Wrestling Show" about what she was feeling during the transitional period.

"It's so hard to look that far ahead into the future," Rodriguez said, "especially in the positions you're put in where, you're right, it was a very confusing time for us, especially us as women with the way the women's division was changing and the direction it was suddenly going. It was a very confusing time. I remember talking to IYO [SKY] in the locker room, just kind of figuring out what we were going to try to change or bring to the table or what we needed to do to stay in the picture."

Rodriguez shared that she "couldn't be happier" to see the likes of herself, SKY, and Dakota Kai make it onto their first WrestleMania this year after being in title matches on last year's NXT Stand and Deliver event in the midst of the "NXT 2.0" era. Shortly after, Rodriguez was called up to the main roster where she pursued Ronda Rousey's "SmackDown" Women's title on two occasions and briefly held the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship alongside Aliyah.

At WrestleMania 39, Rodriguez teamed with Liv Morgan to compete in a four-way tag team match, but they came up short to Rousey and Shayna Baszler. Despite that, Rodriguez and Morgan have since earned a tag team title match against Becky Lynch and Lita set for next week's "WWE Raw."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Ring Wrestling Show" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.