Raquel Rodriguez was expected to appear in the mainstay scene around the WrestleMania season. Proving the rumors true, she has turned out to be one of few recent WWE NXT call-ups to the main roster with an altered ring name. The brute force from NXT who had a strong run in the company’s developmental brand is also expected to make her presence held on the Friday Night SmackDown roster.
Speaking in an interview with Busted Open Radio, Raquel Rodriguez talked about how the atmosphere was when she first arrived at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando. One of the head coaches, Matt Bloom emphasized that the former NXT Women’s Champion was smiling too much. While coming to the main roster, the female superstar was prepared to bring out her intense side. Hence, she decided not to smile too much while being on television.
Ex WWE Raw Star Braun Strowman Shared Steamy Details On Girlfriend Raquel Gonzalez
However, Raquel Rodriguez was advised to do the exact opposite and thereby keep her natural instincts intact. She was coached to do the opposite of what she had thought she would do. The name change was also criticized by the fans but Vince McMahon recently released an edict for mandatory name changes for all the NXT call-ups. Plus, Raquel herself didn’t have any problems with the name change.
Raquel Rodriguez talked about her main roster arrival
Big Mami Cool spoke with Bleav in Pro Wrestling, where she discussed WWE taking away her original last name of Gonzalez. She seems to be totally fine with the new moniker where she requires to smile a lot.
“They just basically said, ‘Hey, you’re getting a name change and this is it.’ I was like, ‘Cool, that’s fine.’ I really had no big arguments with it at all. It was just a simple little switch,” Raquel Rodriguez stated.
“It’s funny, I was just joking with Rhea (Ripley) last Friday because she was actually at SmackDown, and her initials are R-R, Rhea Ripley, and we’ve always joked about being a tag team, and we had our feud NXT. Well, now my initials are R-R, Raquel Rodriguez. So it kind of just feels like it was meant to be, so I’m okay with it. We’re starting to think of new tag names.” (Quotes courtesy Fightful)
As stated, Raquel Rodriguez’s name change hasn’t distracted her focus on SmackDown. She’s just coping with the learning process in the big league. Going by the looks, the two-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion may be looking forward to getting involved in a feud with Natalya on the blue brand. That being said, she will be portrayed as a babyface figure for the foreseen future.
It’s pretty clear that the new recruit on the blue brand is looking forward to embracing whatever is waiting in her way on the main roster. Raquel Rodriguez is a bonafide performer backed up by her boyfriend and former Universal Champion Braun Strowman and she is ready to do anything to make a name for herself. With the thinness being clear on the female roster, her inclusion could be a benefit but the company needs to come up with compact creative plans.
