Zelina Vega is Xelina now, and the missing letter is the point.
Speaking to Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, she explained why she kept the sound of the old name while changing the spelling.
I wanted to keep the Zelina factor to it because when you see the Funko Pop and how big Puerto Rico was, I still want to keep that and people know it’s still me regardless of what company I’m with. It’s also shedding the skin. I’m shedding that skin and bringing a more real version of myself to people.
Asked what the real version looks like, she went straight at the constraints she worked under.
That means no more handcuffs. No more, ‘Your promos are so great but they can’t be better than this person. You want to make sure you do this, talk like this, don’t say this.’ Now, there are no chains and no nothing. I want people to see what I actually can do and I’m trying to behave.
The name is already in motion. She filed a trademark application for Xelina with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on July 20 and confirmed it days later in a video on her YouTube channel, writing that she was thanking fans for letting her entertain them as Zelina Vega.
WWE released her on April 24 alongside her husband Aleister Black, part of the cuts that followed WrestleMania 42. Her 90-day non-compete expired on July 23. It was her second release from the company after a first in November 2020, and she returned eight months later that time.
She was the inaugural Queen of the Ring in 2021, a Women’s Tag Team Champion with Carmella, and the second Women’s United States Champion. The Puerto Rico moment she mentions is Backlash 2023 in San Juan, where she challenged Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in front of her home crowd.
No new promotion has been announced. She is booked for WrestleCon as an independent.
