Zelina Vega is the new WWE United States Champion and is dedicating her victory and title reign to her late father. In a heartfelt video shared by Josiah Williams, Vega opened up about honoring her father by finally capturing singles gold—over two decades after he tragically passed away during the 9/11 attacks.
“Finally getting to put singles gold on my dad’s name at the memorial. So, I’m very, very excited to finally do that… It’s kind of mind-blowing, honestly, to see this right now. Like, to actually have it here physically… because I’ve said it, that I wanted to do it for so long.”
Vega’s father was among the thousands of lives lost in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. While she admitted that revisiting those painful memories is difficult, she was grateful to do so as the reigning WWE Women’s United States Champion.
“If this is the closest that I can get to him and doing this, then I’m happy to do it.”
Vega’s connection to her mother also runs deep. In an emotional FaceTime call, the weight of the moment hit home as her mother told her, “You have made my day. Well, my life.”
For Vega, winning the U.S. Title was about more than holding gold—it was about paying tribute to the man who may be gone but is never forgotten.