Her mother, Monique Ferrer, approachedStoryCorps with the story of how she and her husband had met and what she experienced on the day of the attacks with his death, which StoryCorps used to create a short cartoon titledAlways a Family as a way of honoring his memory.[12] She has said it was because of her father that she entered the wrestling business. She was featured in anNBC special, titledChildren of 9/11, on September 5, 2011.[8][13] Growing up, she also worked as a counselor on a camp for children that had lost parents on 9/11 and also participated in charitable causes such asHabitat for Humanity with Tuesday's Children afterHurricane Katrina.[8]
At the age of 17, Trinidad began training under Javi-Air, Azrieal, andT. J. Perkins.[8] Trinidad made her professional wrestling debut under the ring name Divina Fly for National Wrestling Superstars (NWS) on February 20, 2010, inBloomfield, New Jersey, where she competed againstBrittney Savage in a losing effort.[14] On the August 21 NWS event, Fly competed against Niya in a losing effort.[14] On October 1 at an NWS event, Trinidad, now under the ring name Snookie Fly, teamed up with Judas Young and Mike Dennis in a losing effort to Brittney Savage and Team Supreme (Corvis Fear and Nicky Oceans) in a mixed-tag-team match.[14]
On February 20, 2010, she made her debut forWomen Superstars Uncensored (WSU), under the ring name Divina Fly in a losing effort against Brittney Savage.[8] On June 26, 2010, Divina Fly and Niya, collectively known as The Fly Girls, competed for theWSU Tag Team Championships but lost to the reigning champions, Cindy Rogers and Jana.[8] On September 11, 2010, Divina Fly won a match against newcomer Candy Cartwright with a Fly Cutter.[8]
After being discovered byTommy Dreamer,[8] Trinidad wrestled in a tryoutdark match atTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA)Impact! television tapings on January 11, 2011, losing toAngelina Love.[15] On January 27 it was reported that Trinidad had signed a contract with the promotion.[16] On the February 10 episode ofImpact!, Trinidad, under the ring name Rosita debuted as the storyline cousin ofSarita in an eight-woman tag team match, where the two of them teamed withMadison Rayne andTara and defeated Angelina Love,Mickie James,Velvet Sky andWinter, when Rosita pinned Sky.[17]
In February 2011, Rosita and Sarita defeated Angelina Love and Velvet Sky to earn a shot at Love's and Winter'sTNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship.[18] On March 13 atVictory Road, Rosita and Sarita defeated Love and Winter to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship, with Sarita proclaiming that their victory would start a Mexican takeover of TNA.[19] On the following episode ofImpact!, the alliance of Rosita, Sarita andHernandez was namedMexican America. The three of them were then defeated in a six-personstreet fight by Love, Winter andMatt Morgan.[20] On March 24, the three were joined byAnarquia.[21] In the following weeks Rosita and Sarita successfully defended the Knockouts Tag Team Championship first againstThe Beautiful People (Angelina Love and Velvet Sky) and then against Madison Rayne and Tara.[22][23] They made their third successful defense on the June 16 episode ofImpact Wrestling, defeating Velvet Sky andMs. Tessmacher, following outside interference fromODB.[24] Rosita and Sarita lost the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship to Ms. Tessmacher and Tara on July 12 at the tapings of the July 21 episode ofImpact Wrestling.[25][26] They received a rematch on August 7 atHardcore Justice, but were defeated by Tessmacher and Tara.[27] On the March 22, 2012, episode ofImpact Wrestling, Rosita and Sarita again failed to recapture the Knockouts Tag Team Championship, when they were defeated byEric Young and ODB.[28]
On April 19 episode of TNAImpact, Rosita and Sarita teamed up with Madison Rayne andGail Kim in a losing effort to Brooke Tessmacher, Tara, Velvet Sky and Mickie James.[29] Rosita and Sarita were given another title opportunity on April 15 atLockdown, but were once again defeated by Eric Young and ODB, this time in asteel cage match.[30] Afterwards, both Rosita and Sarita went inactive from TNA, while Anarquia left the promotion and Hernandez turnedface, effectively ending Mexican America.[31][32] After months of inactivity, it was reported on January 9, 2013, that Trinidad's contract with TNA had expired and she had parted ways with the promotion.[33]
In late August 2011, Rosita traveled to Mexico to attend an event held by theConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion, for which Sarita regularly works under the ring name Dark Angel. During Rosita's stay in Mexico, she was trained by CMLL trainers,Arturo Beristain andTony Salazar, and was eventually offered a contract with the promotion, which she, however, could not sign due to TNA's working relationship with rival promotionAAA.[34][35] Just days later, Rosita appeared on AAA's television program,Sin Límite, promoting a storyline, where wrestlers from TNA were invading the promotion.[36]
On May 14, 2011, Rosita made her in-ring debut forFamily Wrestling Entertainment (FWE) at theMeltdown pay-per-view, losing to fellow knockout Winter withChristy Hemme as the special guest referee.[4][37] Rosita and Winter had three rematches, first on August 20 atEmpire City Showdown, the second on November 15 atFallout and the third on December 17 atHaastility; all were won by Winter.[37] Rosita made her return to the promotion on March 24, 2012, at theWelcome to the Rumble pay-per-view, where she unsuccessfully challengedMaria Kanellis forFWE Women's Championship in a three-way match, after Winter pinned her to become the new champion.[37][38]
On May 6, 2015,Global Force Wrestling (GFW) announced Trinidad as part of their roster.[39] She debuted for the promotion on June 12, 2015, where she defeatedLei'D Tapa at the first show of the GFW Grand Slam Tour inJackson, Tennessee. On August 20, 2015, her profile was removed from GFW website.
On March 4, 2013, Trinidad took part in a tryout forWWE.[41] She made several brief appearances in the promotion in 2014, including as one ofAdam Rose's "rosebuds",[42] and lost a match againstNXT Women's ChampionAsuka on the October 26, 2016, episode ofNXT.[43]
With Andrade and new tag team partnerAngel Garza arguing and fighting each other constantly, Vega appeared to end her association with her clients on the September 14 edition ofRaw, interrupting and confronting Asuka after she defeated Mickie James, initiating a feud.[58] The following week, Vega defeated James to earn a title match against Asuka for theRaw Women's Championship atClash of Champions on September 27,[59][60] which she lost via submission.[61] As part of the2020 Draft in October, Vega was drafted to theSmackDown brand.[62] On November 13, 2020, WWE announced that they had released Trinidad from her contract.[63] That same day, Trinidad had tweeted her support forunionization in professional wrestling.[64] It was later reported that the release was due to Trinidad's opposition to WWE "requiring talents to acquiesce control" of their accounts on third-party platforms.[65]
Nearly eight months after her initial release, Vega returned on the July 2, 2021 episode ofSmackDown, where it was announced that she would be competing in the2021 Women's Money in the Bank ladder match; she made her in-ring return the same night in a loss toLiv Morgan.[66] At the event on July 18, she failed to win the match.[67] On the August 27 episode ofSmackDown, she competed in a fatal four-way elimination match to determine the #1 contender for theSmackDown Women's Championship, which was won byBianca Belair.[68] Vega, with specially designed ring gear, was originally scheduled to wrestle on the September 10, 2021, episode of SmackDown held in Madison Square Garden but her match was ultimately cut for time.Vince McMahon later personally apologized to Vega for this.[69] As part of the2021 Draft, Vega was drafted to theRaw brand, which took effect on October 22.[70]
Before that, Vega entered the inauguralQueen's Crown tournament, representing SmackDown, where she defeatedToni Storm in the first round[71] andCarmella in the semi-finals.[72] AtCrown Jewel on October 21, Vega defeated Raw'sDoudrop in the finals to win the tournament and be crowned "Queen"; her first accolade in WWE.[73] On the following episode ofRaw, now officially a member of theRaw brand, Vega had a coronation for her victory, where she was adorned with a crown, cape, and scepter, and her ring name was changed to Queen Zelina; she defeated Doudrop in a rematch using her scepter.[74] On the November 8 episode ofRaw, she competed in a fatal five-way match to determine the #1 contender to the Raw Women's Championship, which was won by Liv Morgan.[75] She participated in the 5 on 5Survivor Series elimination match atSurvivor Series on November 21, but was eliminated byToni Storm.[76]
On the following episode ofRaw, Zelina andCarmella defeatedRhea Ripley andNikki A.S.H to win theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship, marking Queen Zelina's first title in WWE.[77] On the January 3. 2022 episode ofRaw, they retained the titles against Ripley and A.S.H. in a rematch.[78] AtRoyal Rumble on January 29, she entered at #7, eliminatingSasha Banks before she was eliminated by Ripley.[79] On the second night ofWrestleMania 38 on April 3, Zelina and Carmella lost the titles in a fatal four-way tag team match toSasha Banks and Naomi, which also involved Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley andNatalya andShayna Baszler, ending their reign at 131 days.[80] In May, it was reported that she was out of action due to an in-ring injury which required surgery.[81]
Legado Del Fantasma and Latino World Order (2022–2025)
After a seven-month hiatus, Vega returned on the October 7, 2022 episode ofSmackDown, aligning herself withLegado Del Fantasma and attackingHit Row.[82] At theRoyal Rumble on January 28, 2023, Vega entered the Women'sRoyal Rumble match at #21. She eliminatedXia Li before being eliminated byLacey Evans.[83] On the March 10 episode ofSmackdown, Vega joined Legado Del Fantasma in helpingRey Mysterio againstThe Judgment Day, turningface for the first time in her WWE career.[84]
On the March 31 episode ofSmackDown, Mysterio reformed theLatino World Order and invited Legado Del Fantasma to join as a token of appreciation for aiding him in his fight against his son,Dominik Mysterio, and The Judgment Day.[85][86] On the April 21 episode ofSmackDown, Vega requested a match against The Judgment Day'sRhea Ripley for theSmackDown Women's Championship atBacklash, which was granted by WWE OfficialAdam Pearce.[87][88] Vega unsuccessfully to win the title from Ripley at Backlash but received a standing ovation from the hometown crowd after the match.[89] Vega defeatedLacey Evans to qualify for the2023 women'sMoney in the Bank ladder match on the June 2 episode ofSmackDown.[90] Vega and her stablemate Escobar failed to win their respective Money in the Bank ladder matches in thenamesake event.[91] On the August 25 episode ofSmackDown, as Vega previously defeated theWWE Women's ChampionIyo Sky before winning the title, Vega challenged Sky for the championship, however, was unsuccessful.[92] On the November 10 episode ofSmackDown, Escobar defected from LWO and removed Vega, Wilde and Del Toro from Legado del Fantasma the following week.[93][94] At Night 2 of the2024 WWE Draft, LWO were drafted to the Raw brand.[95]
Vega was transferred to the SmackDown brand as of January 27, 2025, leaving LWO in the process.[96] On the April 25 episode of Smackdown, Vega defeatedChelsea Green to win theWWE Women's United States Championship, thus marking her first singles title win in her career.[97] Vega then retained the title against Green in a rematch on May 24 atSaturday Night’s Main Event XXXIX.[98] On June 27 episode ofSmackDown, Vega lost the title toGiulia, ending her reign at 63 days.[99] Vega attempted to regain the title from Giulia on the August 1 episode ofSmackDown, but was unsuccessful.[100]
Trinidad appeared in the documentaryChildren of 9/11, and on the first and twentieth anniversaries of the September 11 Memorial Ceremony, she participated in the reading of victim names.[8]
In August 2023, Trinidad alongside New Zealand professional wrestlerCheree Crowley (best known as Dakota Kai), launched a new podcast calledZELVXandCharlieGirl.[104]
Trinidad has stated thatDwayne Johnson inspired her to act in films.[11] One of her most notable roles was portraying fellow professional wrestlerAJ Lee in the 2019 biographical filmFighting with My Family alongsideFlorence Pugh (who was portraying Paige).
In 2018, Trinidad married fellow professional wrestler Tom Büdgen, better known asAleister Black.[115] They reside inTampa, Florida.[116] She was previously in a six-year relationship with fellow professional wrestler Daniel Solwold Jr., better known asAustin Aries.[117]
On the 10th anniversary of theSeptember 11 attacks, Trinidad spoke about her father who died as a result of the terrorist attacks in an out-of-character interview on TNA'sNo Surrender pay-per-view.[118]
Trinidad has described herself as a "vegan athlete" and actively promotes her lifestyle on social media and onYouTube.[119] Outside of professional wrestling, Trinidad is acosplayer and often dresses as characters fromanime.[120][121][122]
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