Zelina Vega Gets Emotional, Receives Standing Ovation In Puerto Rico At WWE Backlash

Zelina Vega may not have walked out of WWE Backlash as the new "SmackDown" Women's Champion, but she did receive a standing ovation from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Vega, who was born in New York but is of Puerto Rican descent, had an emotional entrance on Saturday as she walked to the ring with a Puerto Rican flag draped around her before greeting her family sitting in the front row. She was then visibly emotional during her hometown ring introduction. Vega came up short to Rhea Ripley after a seven-minute match, but the raucous San Juan crowd continued offering her a standing ovation anyway. With both tears and a smile, Vega soaked up the reaction in the middle of the ring before leaving.

Prior to this weekend, Vega had never wrestled in Puerto Rico before. Her first appearance in the territory happened on Friday's edition of "WWE SmackDown," as she appeared alongside the LWO in the show's opening segment. Later, in the main event, Vega teamed with hero-turned-mentor Rey Mysterio to pick up a big win over Ripley and Dominik Mysterio as part of the ongoing feud between LWO and the Judgment Day.

During a recent appearance on "Out of Character," Vega explained that this babyface run is a first for her.

"I've never been a babyface before on TV ever, like in my whole 14 years of doing this," she said. "So it's very, very cool, very different, and to add parts of Rey Mysterio into the match I had with Rhea and Dom, that was really fun for me."