In an interview with Joel Pearl, Raquel Rodriguez spoke about her friendship with fellow WWE SmackDown Superstar Shotzi.
Rodriguez revealed that she and Shotzi attended the same NXT tryout in 2016 and had their first match against each other in EVOLVE. She also spoke about their time working together in NXT and on the main roster, including having a ladder match. The former NXT Women’s Champion described their friendship as having grown over time and being based on a good amount of trust.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
Raquel Rodriguez on her WWE tryout along with Shotzi: “You know what’s so funny… Shotzi was actually in my tryouts. So, we both had our tryouts with NXT, I believe it was in 2016. She looked completely different. She was the only girl there that actually had wrestling experience at the time because I had just started out, my father was only letting me roll around and train with a select few. So, my knowledge of wrestling was very, very minimal. So, I’ve known her since then.
On her first gimmick match, also against Shotzi: “Then getting the opportunity to know that I would go with EVOLVE and have my first gimmick—a street fight is what it was. So, we were using chairs, we were using my bull rope, we were using ladders. That was the first time I ever had a match like that, and it was against Shotzi. She was already known for being this hardcore super ready to do whatever and take whatever type of person. I was like, ‘Alright, this is where you really get tested if you want to do this. ‘Cause you gotta shut up or you gotta put up, and we’re gonna do it, dang it.”
Rodriguez on working with Shotzi in NXT and on SmackDown: “It was really, really fun because I felt like we built a good friendship, a good bond, a good amount of trust where we could now bring that into NXT. My first ladder match was with Shotzi in NXT. I feel like our friendship has really grown over time and getting to tag with her on Smackdown and work against her on Smackdown. It’s been really, really fun to have those moments with her.”
