WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon reportedly passed on talking with Zelina Vega after she was released from her contract last Friday.
Vega was informed of her release last Friday by WWE’s Senior Director of Talent Relations, Mark Carrano. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter adds that Vega asked to talk to McMahon, but Carrano told her that Vince did not want to talk to her, and she was then escorted out of the building.
As noted, Vega was released last Friday due to reasons related to WWE’s new edict on third party content with sites such as Cameo and Twitch, which Vega is active on. WWE later confirmed with Sports Illustrated that Vega was released due to a breach of contract.
McMahon was reportedly unhappy with Vega for opening up an OnlyFans account, which she was using for cosplay content under a different name, even after WWE issued the third party edict. The feeling was that Vega’s actions boxed the company into a difficult situation. It was noted that Vega’s release was done as a reminder to all talents that the new third party policy will be strictly enforced.
Vega appeared on the “Table Talk” podcast with WWE Hall of Famer & Producer D-Von Dudley back in September and recalled how Vince had previously told her that she was one of his favorite talents, comparing her to his daughter, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon.
“It’s weird because I think that too and I’m like, you know what? If quarantine didn’t happen – not saying that I wouldn’t have had these opportunities – but maybe it would have taken a little bit longer,” Vega told Dudley. “And also, Becky’s having her baby so there are people that are not here so that just leaves spots to fill and for me, I’m like, ‘Give me the ball! If I drop it, screw me!’ But you lose nothing and I was always ready for that and I think it started with Drew [McIntyre] when we had that back and forth. I was like, ‘Man, he’s like my other promo half.’ It was just perfect.
“Whenever it happened, it was just magic with him and it’s interesting because before even quarantine happened, Vince would always say, ‘You’re one of my favorites. You’re one of the reasons that I watch RAW. I love your character.’ It was such an honor to hear that because one of the things that he used to say to me was, ‘You remind me of Stephanie because she was always working out there. You’re a cutaway machine. I love that about you’ and first of all, I was like, ‘Are you serious?’ Legit, I was going to cry. I love Stephanie. She’s a huge inspiration when it comes to me and the Zelina character, but it’s wild to think that if this quarantine didn’t happen, I wonder where I would be. I wonder if I’d be getting a RAW Women’s Title shot against Asuka.”
