Zelina Vega Reveals the Future of Her WWE Managing Career, Who Influenced Her Character

Last week's Monday Night Raw saw Zelina Vega interrupt Asuka's latest victory celebration by saying she was tired of wasting the best years of her career managing two "selfish little ingrates" in Andrade and Angel Garza. She then stated she was ready to be Raw Women's Champion and promptly slapped the champ across the face, indicating she's next in line for "The Empress of Tomorrow." In an interview with ComicBook later in the week, Vega clarified if she's truly done being a manager — a role she has thrived in for years.

"Well, here's the thing, in the heat of the moment sometimes we say things that, not that we don't necessarily mean, but we haven't fully committed to," Vega said. "So I'm not 100% sure yet that I'm done with them [Andrade and Garza]. But if I'm not they have a hell of a lot of making up to do.

"And as far as being a manager goes, it's something that I truly love," she continued. "I don't think I'll ever be completely done with anything. A lot of people asked me, 'Are you done being a wrestler?' when I was becoming a manager. I don't think I'll ever be done with either one. It depends on what the goal is at the time."

Vega worked primarily as an in-ring competitor prior to signing with WWE (most notably in TNA/Impact Wrestling), but once she arrived in NXT she spent the majority of her screen time as Andrade's manager. She admitted it was never her plan to balance being a wrestler and a manager, but fell in love with the latter.

"I've always loved Paul Heyman," she said. "And as a manager I loved Sherri [Martel], and even shades of Melina, those are three really strong influences on me and my character. And when I was put in the role, anything I'm given, I'm like, 'Okay, I have to knock it out of the park.' And in the process is where I fell in love with being a manager. And I was like, 'Oh, this is fun, this is evil, I like this.' It's a different side of me where I get to bring out maybe the side of you that you can't always be."

This week's Raw will feature the follow-up to the confrontation between Vega and Asuka, as well as a rematch of last week's main event between Drew McIntyre and Keith Lee, a Raw Underground match between Braun Strowman and Dabba Kato and a triple threat tag match for a shot at the Street Profits' Raw Tag Team Championships.

Monday Night Raw kicks off at 8 p.m. ET on the USA Network.