Zelina Vega pays tribute to late father after first WWE singles title win

After winning the first singles gold of her WWE career, Zelina Vega (Thea Trinidad Budgen) had a special stop she had to make.

Vega returned home to New York City this week to pay tribute to her late father Michael Angel Trinidad, who passed away in 2001 while working for Cantor Fitzgerald in the World Trade Center during the 9/11 terror attacks. Vega and her father bonded over WWE when she was growing up — and she brought her newly won Women’s United States Championship belt to the 9/11 Memorial this week so she could place it on his name. She documented the visit in a video that can be seen below:

“It’s kind of mind-blowing honestly to see this right now, to actually have it here physically,” Vega said. “Because I’ve said that I wanted to do it for so long. In a way I came here really happy — but it kind of makes it real. That’s why I kind of don’t come here that much. But if this is the closest that I can get to him and doing this, then I’m happy to do it.”

Vega shared the moment with her mother on a FaceTime call from the memorial and also brought her title belt to her grandmother’s house in Queens.

The title change happened on SmackDown last Friday with Vega dethroning inaugural Women’s United States champ Chelsea Green. Vega told Busted Open Radio that, after accomplishing this goal, she still has her sights set on winning the WWE Women’s Championship or Women’s World Championship in the future.

In 2018, WWE produced an interview with Vega discussing how 9/11 changed her life: