NXT star Roxanne Perez has achieved a lot in a short space of time and at a very young age. However, her path to the top hasn’t been without mishaps.
Perez began her wrestling journey at just 16 years of age at Booker T’s school, Reality of Wrestling. Just five years later she now sits on top of the NXT women’s division as the champion.
Perez was a recent guest on Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg. During the interview, she revealed a moment in her young career that she described as a wrestling nightmare.
“When I started at Reality of Wrestling, I was 16, Booker and Sharmell [Booker T’s wife] were like parents to me and always looking out for me. Sharmell is amazing. One time, we had a show, and we were at a different venue.
Usually, our locker rooms are towards the back, but it’s sort of an open space that you can hear the matches going on. In this venue, the locker rooms are completely closed doors, so you didn’t know what was going on unless you went out there and checked things out.
We’re in the back and putting our match together and I was like, ‘Can you check what match is on?’ I’m putting on one boot, I haven’t put on the other, and she storms in and is like, ‘Your music is playing.’ ‘You’re lying. You’re just kidding.’ ‘No, your music is playing right now.’ ‘Oh my God.’ I don’t have my boot on. This is a wrestling nightmare.
I’m freaking out and trying to tie my boot as fast as I could. I hear Booker across the hallway, ‘what the hell?’ ‘Please don’t come in here.’ He opens the door and is like, ‘What the hell is going on?’ ‘My boot, I don’t know.’ I’m freaking out and can’t get a word out.
He was pissed and just walked out. ‘This is what happens when you think you’re over.’ It really humbled me. Sharmell came in the room after and was like, ‘don’t let him talk to you like that.’ She was hugging me and was like, ‘Don’t cry. You put your boots on, you go out there and you kick butt.’ After the match, I come to the back and he’s like, ‘Okay, kid, that was a good match. You redeemed yourself. Don’t ever do that again.'”
Roxanne Perez Is The NXT Women’s Champion
Despite the mishap at the ROW, Perez thrived under the tutelage of the WWE Hall of Famer. Booker T proudly watched Perez dethrone Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Champion in December last year.
More recently, the young star successfully defended the title at NXT Vengeance Day against Toxic Attraction’s Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne.