Zelina Vega On Emotions Of WWE’s Madison Square Garden Return On Eve Of 9/11 Anniversary

In a recent interview with Yahoo Sports, Zelina Vega, who lost her father in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, discussed returning to Madison Square Garden for tonight’s WWE SmackDown, the emotions surrounding it, and much more. Here’s what she had to say:

Zelina Vega on going to Manhattan the day after SmackDown to take part in reading off the names of those who died in the attacks: “I feel a sense of honor, a sense of pride. Obviously, we have the choice if we want to read names or not and I felt like this was the appropriate year to do it. I did it once before, when I was 13 years old, and it was a very big responsibility for someone so young. I also felt like I had a duty to represent my father. I feel the same thing for the 20th anniversary.”

On returning to Madison Square Garden for SmackDown and the emotions surrounding it: “It’s weird because any time I have ever performed at Madison Square Garden, I looked for the spot that we would usually go to. I don’t know how my dad was able to get as many tickets as he did, but my brother and I were able to scout out where we’d sit. [Friday is] going to be one of those moments where I’ll have to take it in for a second because through all of the noise and everything going on, I owe it to myself to take it all in.”