‘I don’t need mentors anymore:’ Roxanne Perez has Bayley – and WWE HISTORY – In his sights on NXT Vengeance Day

It’s a big week for Roxanne Perez. Fresh from her runner-up finish in this year’s WWE Royal Rumble, where she showed up as the long-goal competitor of the match, “The Prodigy” leads to Washington DC for a four-way title exhibition on Saturday on NXT Vengeance Day. If she wins, she will be the first three-time NXT women’s master.

In a speech with the Ukrone three days ahead of Vengeance Day, Perez is unshakable in his mission. “I am absolutely without a doubt that I get my title back,” she says, flashing a smile that hides any underlying irritation by being asked the question in the first place.

It is true that the 23-year-old Texan has never been short of confidence. But a few matches have ever been so personal to Perez, who has a complex relationship (to put it mildly) with the other three women in Saturday’s match.

In one corner, her old tag-team partner, Cora Jade, whose relationship with Perez has been storming in recent years. In another stands Giulia, the current NXT Woman Master who became in January The first woman who beat Perez in more than one year. And finally there is Bayley, One of wwes pioneering four horse women and Perez’s previous inspiration, which has been the subject of her latest Vendetta.

For all Perez’s insistence that she will prevail, there is no doubt that she is going into her own personal lion. But which of the three women would she rather pin? Given the swirling pastiche of history and personal animosity that is layered within the fight, her answer is a narrative.

“I would gladly fasten all three of them, but I feel I have the most to prove to Bayley,” she says, taking a pair of beats for the first time in our conversation. “I want to prove that I am better than her and that I am the best woman in the NXT division.”

The tough speech is a big step up two years ago when a rookie Perez-the youngest breakthrough star in NXT since Paige’s Days describes her now opponent Bayley as her “big sister” in the wrestling world. Has things really changed so much during that time?

The first sign of tension arose when Perez visited “WWE RAW” back in January. But what started as a Sim has since turned into a rolling cooking on NXT, where Bayley has proved sporadic. The feud has now withdrawn Bayley back to the NXT women’s joint scene in the pursuit of a prize she last had in 2015.

“I feel I have to put her properly in her place,” says Perez. “She has to realize that I don’t need mentors anymore.” That’s a point that Perez tried to do on Tuesday as she interrupted Bayley’s NXT match wearing the latter long-discarded “Hugger” anti-clothing-a distraction that caused Bayley to lose her fight to jade.

The main games are conscious.

“It’s no secret that I was a big” chop “fan who grew up,” says Perez with a laugh. “But I know Bayley doesn’t love it when people bring up” chop “, so I used it to play mind games with her. And guess what? She lost. “

Perez clearly sees NXT as his territory to defend. But she knows better than anyone that the smart money has long been the fact that she was raised to the WWE head marks in the near future. Her sizzling performance in 2025’s Royal Rumble – who saw her entering No. 3, surviving for more than 67 minutes and eliminating rival Giulia – only evoked speculation that the call for wwe’s brightest limelight is coming.

“Honestly, ‘Raw’ has always caught my eye since I was a kid,” says Perez. “That’s the brand I would mention when someone asked me where I would go if I ever came to WWE. I would very much like to be on ‘Smackdown’ too, but ‘Raw’ has always been in my sights. “

It’s probably no coincidence that Bayley is there.

But Perez also has other scores to settle on the red fire. A step to “WWE RAW” would set her within a marked distance from Lyra Valkyria, which Perez previously fought for the NXT title. Then there’s Kiana James, that defeated Perez in 2023 in a violent burkamp at the NXT deadline.

Meanwhile, however, Perez remains part of what is increasingly referred to (and not just WWE) as the best women’s division in wrestling. As one of the veterans of the NXT dressing room – if you can be such a thing of just 23 – it is Embbloled for Perez to see that kind of praise being harvested over the fire she has worked so hard to lift and support.

“I think it creates even more motivation and drives for everyone there,” she says. “Our women’s division is so diverse – we have D1 athletes who go up against women who have been fighting for years – and everyone is just so hungry. I have said before that I think NXT would go downhill without me, but frankly I think the future is in good hands. “

It’s great praise for her comrades. But for all her admiration for their talents, Perez is eager to remind like Jade, Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer that she remains their superior. Winning Saturday’s match on Vengeance Day is not just about becoming the first NXT-Tre-Gangs Master, she insists, but coming back the price that means so much to her.

“NXT Women’s Championship was the first single title I ever won in WWE,” she says with her eyes glowing a little on memory. “That’s what proved that all the hard work was worthwhile the obstacles I went through, all these five hours of bus trips to get to shows. Now it’s time to get it back. “

And if it means to ruin the woman who inspired her to take all the long bus trips in the first place? As far as “The Prodigy,” so please.

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