Roxanne Perez Says Her Match With Meiko Satomura Shows How Far She'll Go To Keep WWE NXT Women's Title - Exclusive
Saturday afternoon, "WWE NXT" Women's Champion Roxanne Perez will defend her title against five other women — Zoey Stark, Gigi Dolin, Tiffany Stratton, Indi Hartwell, and Lyra Valkyria — in a ladder match at Stand & Deliver. But it wasn't exactly easy arriving at this destination. That's because on the March 7 episode of "NXT," after successfully defending her championship against the legendary Meiko Satomura, Perez "collapsed" and was stretchered out of the arena. Fast forward to the present, and the 21-year-old is as ready as ever to defend her championship. In an exclusive interview with Wrestling Inc's Senior Lead News Editor Miles Schneiderman, Perez expressed her belief that her match with Satomura is proof of that. But first, Perez spoke about what makes her most recent opponent different from most.
"She's a legend. She's been wrestling she since was like 15 years old," Perez said. "And she's like what, 40? 40-something? That's insane! I aspire to be like that."
So far, Perez hasn't faced an opponent quite like Satomura, who she credits with knowing "every single inch of that ring." Satomura, who is now 43 years old, made her professional wrestling debut in the Gaea Japan promotion on April 15, 1995, when she was just 15 years old. And while the "NXT" Women's Champion hopes to still be going like that when she's 40, she believes a statement was made back on March 7.
"I feel like in that match I proved to everybody that I will do anything," Perez declared. "I'll leave everything in the ring for this championship."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Wrestling Inc. with an h/t for the transcription.