Xelina marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks by remembering her father, Michael Trinidad, who was killed at the World Trade Center in 2001. The former WWE star, who wrestled as Zelina Vega, told The Takedown on SI that wrestling is still what connects her to him.
Trinidad was a telecom analyst for Cantor Fitzgerald. Xelina was 10 years old when he died.
She said her father loved wrestling and wanted to be a wrestler himself. He was an accomplished high school wrestler, Andre the Giant was his favorite, and Xelina still keeps his old trophies.
Their fandom went beyond WWE. Xelina recalled attending WCW Halloween Havoc in 1997 with him, where they watched Rey Mysterio face Eddie Guerrero, and a Hardy Boyz shirt he bought her as a kid.
Wrestling could have become a painful reminder after his death. Instead, Xelina said it was the thing that pulled her out of a dark depression when she was a teenager.
She has carried him through her career since. During her reign as WWE Women’s United States Champion, she brought the title to the 9/11 Memorial, and she said fans still stop to take photos next to his name there.
That visit wasn’t the finish line. “I still have this urge to bring him a World Title,” Xelina said, adding that she doesn’t know yet which company that championship might come from.
Xelina has been back in action since her WWE release, beating Shayna Baszler at House of Glory in her return to the ring.
