Xelina Wants To Win a World Title To Honor Her Father, Reflects On 25th Anniversary Of 9/11

Xelina lost her father 25 years ago in the World Trade Center attacks on 9/11, and she still has an ambition to win a world title for him. Tomorrow marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, when Xelina’s father, Michael Trinidad, was among the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives. The former Zelina Vega has spoken in the past about wanting to win a title to honor her dad and the bond they had over wrestling, and she spoke about that and more in an interview with The Takedown on SI. You can see the highlights below:

On The 25th Anniversary Of 9/11:

“In a weird way, it still doesn’t feel like it’s been that long. It’s crazy to even say 25 years. I’ve had to really sit there and count it out, like, really? For me, it (the 9/11 anniversary) is about making sure my dad is someone I take with me every step of the way — family-wise and career-wise.”

On Their Connection Through Wrestling:

“Oh, my god. I still have my Team Extreme foam finger from back in the day. I still have the Hardy Boyz shirt he bought me. It’s crazy — there are times I think about what a wild little fan I was. That’s why, whenever a fan comes up to me, I’m always like, ‘No, trust me, this isn’t weird at all, because I was you.

“We went to Madison Square Garden all the time when wrestling was there. I watched WWF back in the day, WCW, ECW — which scared the hell out of me, but I loved all of it. I remember a match I saw at my dad’s house in 1997, so I was only seven — Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc — and it just made me go, this is what I want to do. My dad was always super supportive of it, even though I was a little kid and people thought I was talking out of nowhere. But because he loved wrestling and wanted to be a wrestler himself, he understood it in a way not everybody did.”

On How Wrestling Helped Her After His Passing:

“It was the only thing that pulled me out of a dark depression. It really hit me when I was about 15. I used to go with my dad every weekend, and even after 9/11, as a kid, I’d pack my bags thinking I was just going to go see him — like somehow he’d have gotten out of there. By the time I was 15, it really hit me, and I asked myself, okay, what was the thing he and I shared the most? Professional wrestling.

“So I thought, I think I can do this — for me, and to live his dream and mine at the same time. I made a promise back then: I’m going to bring him a championship. That gave me a distraction, but it also gave me something to fight for. I go into survival mode when I feel my lowest — tunnel vision on one thing. For me, that was it: I have this promise to keep, and I’m not going to feel fulfilled until I do.”

On Wanting To Win a World Title For Him:

“Even though I got to bring the United States Championship to the 9/11 Memorial, I still have this urge to bring him a world title. I don’t know where that title comes from — I don’t know if it’s WWE. I left WWE in 2020, I came back, and now I’m gone again, and who knows what happens. But if it’s not with WWE, that doesn’t mean it can’t be with House of Glory, or TNA, or AEW, or CMLL, or wherever.”

On What Advice She Thinks He’d Give Her:

“I think he’d just be proud that I decided to stick with it at all. You hear it from a kid, but you never really know who’s serious. My dad always knew I was a stubborn, focused little girl … He’d be stoked I’m still fighting this hard. He always said I was the smallest girl with the biggest drive and the biggest mouth. I carry that proudly. Yes, I’m the smallest, and yes, I had a complex about it when I was younger, but now it’s the best part — I can be the loudest, in your face, and still accomplish every goal I have.”