Stephanie Vaquer says WWE gave her option to start in NXT or main roster

Stephanie Vaquer says WWE gave her the option to start on the main roster, but she chose NXT.

After last night’s edition of NXT, she appeared on Busted Open After Dark and said to host Bully Ray that she initially told WWE she wanted to start on the main roster, but ended up changing her mind.

Vaquer said:

“I really like doing new things, but good. I don’t like (going) fast, and not good. So, I say, ‘Ok, I need to learn English. I need to learn TV show. I need to learn American-style, WWE-style. So, first I say, ‘Main roster’ but change and say I want to go to NXT to learn.”

“The first call when they called me and say, ‘NXT or main roster?’ I say, ‘Main roster.'” She added, “I think and say, ‘Ok, take it easy. I need to learn English, I need to learn. Ok, change, NXT.'”

Vaquer also addressed receiving offers from other companies before signing with WWE last summer. She says that while she took the offers seriously, her decision came down to WWE being her dream.

“WWE is my dream,” she said. “Many options and talks, but I say no, WWE is for me.”

She reiterated that money was not the most important factor in her decision.. Vaquer says she learned a long time ago that it’s not about money.

“I was born in a country with no professional wrestling,” she continued. “I lived in Mexico many years. I lived in Japan. And sometimes in Mexico, I was hungry and (I had) no money for buying food, but I’m training and I feel happy and say, ‘Okay, it’s not about money, it’s about wrestling.’ I feel happy with wrestling. But at the same time, I sacrificed everything in my life for wrestling, so I need to protect my career. But no (it’s not) about money. For me, the life is not about money. Your passion, what you feel, it’s not about money.”

Vaquer is set to challenge Giulia in a title vs. title match at NXT Roadblock next week at the Theater in Madison Square Garden. It will be their first singles bout against each other under the WWE umbrella and their second all time. Their first bout took place almost exactly a year earlier, on March 10, 2024, at Korakuen Hall, where Vaquer defeated Giulia to win the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship.