During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Raquel González commented on defeating Io Shirai to win the NXT women’s title at the NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On how her title win set the tone for WrestleMania Weekend and three new women’s champions: “I’m very humbled to be part of that—three new champions. Since my beginning in NXT, I’ve always looked up to Bianca, as a wrestler and a human being. She pushed me to up my game, and the same goes for Rhea. Those are two powerhouses. So for me to start it off, then see Bianca win in the main event, and then see Rhea win, it’s an honor to be grouped with two phenomenal athletes.”
On her thoughts on Io Shirai: “Io is the best in the world. She must know that, but she’s still so humble. She’s out there, she’s creative, she’s different. I love working with her, and we’re both of the same mindset to create something that was worthy of an NXT TakeOver main event. I told her she’s so crazy for the things she’s willing to do. Jumping off the cage at WarGames with a trash can over her head. Jumping off that skull last week. And she said, “You’re the crazy one—you take it!” We work really well together, and I was grateful to share the ring with her.”
On when the title win really sunk in: “It hit me when [referee] Darryl [Sharma] placed the title in my hands. I was banging against the mat, and I was so excited that everything went the way we wanted. I was just grateful for Io, Darryl and myself making it work in our time limit. When he handed me the title, and it was finally in my hands, I saw my dad’s hands go up. My parents were there to see me, and that’s when it set in. Later that night, we had a meeting. Triple H said he remembered when NXT was airing live on USA, and it was the night I was supposed to have my debut. But they pulled me a couple hours before and said I wasn’t ready. That was very humbling. And it means so much I’m now someone he can trust with the NXT Women’s Championship.”
On how they wanted to make the match different and special: “We wanted to create something different and special. As a big powerhouse, it’s hard to not be in control. But it’s different with Io. The way that she fights, she can be in control. That’s something she can do. And I was the underdog. I’ve read the comments. I know people think I’m still green. I definitely am still learning, and that was something we wanted to put in our story. It’s an honor for me to work with Io, someone who has so much experience. So the match showed that even a dominant force can get knocked down, but it’s all about how you recover. That’s something we were able to tell in our match.”
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