About Zelina Vega
Thea Megan Trinidad Budgen is an American professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Zelina Vega. She previously worked in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as Rosita, and for various independent promotions under her real name.
Nearly eight months after her initial release, Vega returned on the July 2, 2021 episode of SmackDown, where it was announced that she would be competing in the 2021 Women’s Money in the Bank ladder match; she made her in-ring return the same night in a loss to Liv Morgan.At the event on July 18, she failed to win the match.On the August 27 episode of SmackDown, she competed in a fatal four-way elimination match to determine the 1 contender for the SmackDown Women's Championship, which was won by Bianca Belair.As part of the 2021 Draft, Vega was drafted to the Raw brand, which took effect on October 22.Before that, Vega entered the inaugural Queen's Crown tournament, representing SmackDown, where she defeated Toni Storm in the first roundand Carmella in the semi-finals.At Crown Jewel on October 21, Vega defeated Raw's Doudrop in the finals to win the tournament and be crowned "Queen"; her first accolade in WWE.On the following episode of Raw, now officially a member of the Raw brand, Vega had a coronation for her victory, where she was adorned with a crown, cape, and scepter, and her ring name was changed to Queen Zelina; she defeated Doudrop in a rematch using her scepter.On the November 8 episode of Raw, she competed in a fatal five-way match to determine the 1 contender to the Raw Women's Championship, which was won by Liv Morgan.She participated in the 5 on 5 Survivor Series elimination match at Survivor Series on November 21, but was eliminated by Toni Storm.
On the following episode of Raw, Queen Zelina and Carmella defeated Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H to win the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, marking Queen Zelina's first title in WWE.On the January 3. 2022 episode of Raw, they retained the titles against Ripley and A.S.H. in a rematch.At Royal Rumble on January 29, she entered at #7, eliminating Sasha Banks before she was eliminated by Ripley.On the second night of WrestleMania 38 on April 3, Queen Zelina and Carmella lost the titles in a fatal four-way tag team match to Sasha Banks and Naomi, which also involved Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley and Natalya and Shayna Baszler, ending their reign at 131 days In May, it was reported that she was out of action due to an in-ring injury which required surgery.
Legado Del Fantasma;Latino World Order (2022–Present)
After a seven-month hiatus, Vega returned on the October 7 episode of SmackDown, aligning herself with Legado Del Fantasma and attacking Hit Row.At the Royal Rumble on January 28, 2023, Vega entered the Women's Royal Rumble match at #21. She eliminated Xia Li before being eliminated by Lacey Evans.On the March 10 episode of Smackdown, Vega joined Legado Del Fantasma in helping Rey Mysterio against The Judgment Day, turning face for the first time in six years.On the March 31 episode of SmackDown, Rey reformed the Latino World Order and invited Legado Del Fantasma to join as a token of appreciation for aiding him in his fight against his son, Dominik Mysterio, and The Judgment Day.On the April 21 episode of SmackDown, Vega requested a match against The Judgment Day's Rhea Ripley for the SmackDown Women's Championship at Backlash, which was granted by WWE Official Adam Pearce.Vega failed to win the title from Ripley at Backlash but received a standing ovation from the hometown crowd after the match.
Other Media
Trinidad appeared in the 2012 film Dorothy and the Witches of Oz.She appeared in the documentary Children of 9/11, and on the first and twentieth anniversaries of the September 11 Memorial Ceremony, she participated in the reading of victim names.She portrayed professional wrestler AJ Lee in the sports drama film Fighting with My Family.She has said that Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) inspired her to act in films.
Trinidad appears as a non-playable manager in WWE 2K19 and then as a playable character in WWE 2K20 and WWE 2K23.
Trinidad also features in Street Fighter 6 as an in-game commentator.
Personal Life
In 2018, Trinidad married Dutch professional wrestler Tom Büdgen, also known as Malakai Black (formerly known as Aleister Black in WWE).She resides in Tampa, Florida.
On the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Trinidad spoke about her father who died as a result of the terrorist attack in an out-of-character interview on TNA's No Surrender pay-per-view.She appeared at the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and honoured her father as she read out his name just after 09:00 that morning, barely 10 minutes after United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the South Tower. She was accompanied by another woman, who lost her loved one, Phillip Miller that day.
As of December 2023, she has amassed 1.8 million followers on her Instagram platform.
