Sol Ruca is reflecting on a transformative year as she prepares for one of the biggest opportunities of her career.
The NXT star will face Bayley at this weekend's Saturday Night's Main Event in Washington, D.C.—the same card that will feature John Cena's final WWE match against Gunther.
In an interview with Fox News, Ruca opened up about the significance of the moment and how far she's come in just one year.
I'm honored and I'm really proud of myself for this past year and just putting myself out there even just to be in this world of professional wrestling," Ruca said. "I am a pretty reserved and shy person. So, I feel like I've pushed myself a lot this past year and I'm really proud of myself to be in this position and really honored to be a part of it.
Making History
Ruca highlighted the common thread running through her 2025—being part of historic moments. She became a double champion, holding both the NXT Women's North American Championship and the NXT Women's Speed Championship.
She also pursued the tag team titles with her partner and earned a spot in the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline after being personally selected by John Cena.
I'm going to be a part of making history," Ruca said. "I feel like this past year has had that common thread, you know, being a double champion and being a speed champion and North American champion and then going for the tag titles with my tag partner and then now being on John Cena's last show and also him picking me to be a part of Deadline. It's been a really cool year for me.
Learning From Bayley
Facing Bayley represents a significant opportunity for Ruca to test herself against a four-time WWE Women's Champion who was instrumental in WWE's women's revolution.
"I'm so excited, especially being so new to the industry and going up against someone like Bayley who has been doing this so much longer than me," Ruca said. "I'm just really excited to learn. I'm really excited to be in that type of environment. I'm really excited to just put it all out there and just have fun to be honest."
Ruca noted that Bayley has been a supportive presence at the WWE Performance Center, helping younger talent develop their skills.
"I think when I was really, really new to it, she hopped into a class with us and we got to wrestle around with her and I've seen her in the locker room a few times like being up on Raw and SmackDown recently. She's really nice and she's really open to letting us learn and just being a good role model."
Saturday Night's Main Event airs this Saturday at 8 PM ET on Peacock.