Former WWE champion gets extremely emotional after first match in almost a year

A former WWE champion recently sent an extremely emotional message after her first singles match in almost a year. The name in question is none other than former Women's Tag Team Champion Shotzi.

During the February 13, 2024 episode of the developmental brand, Shotzi faced Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women's Championship. However, she suffered an ACL injury during the bout, which forced her out of in-ring competition for months. The star returned to WWE television in December last year and has since participated in several matches.

However, on this week's edition of NXT, the 32-year-old defeated Stephanie Vaquer in a number one contender's match for Fallon Henley's Women's North American Championship. This was Shotzi's first singles match since she got injured.

During a recent WWE exclusive interview, the former Women's Tag Team Champion got extremely emotional while highlighting that it was her first singles match in almost a year. Shotzi also mentioned that she felt the bout set the tone for the rest of her 2025, before sending a warning to Fallon Henley.

"Well, first of all, that was my first singles match in almost a year. [Gets extremely emotional] Sorry it's too special. Such a long long journey to get back into the ring and I feel like that match really set the tone for my 2025. And you know, I didn't need Fallon's help to win that match but I think she proved how much of a chicken she really is. And I'm about to prove how 'ballsy' Shotzi is," she said. [0:15 - 0:46]

Check out her interview below:

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WWE star Shotzi shared her backstage conversation with Triple H

During an interview with Steve Fall of Wrestling News Co, Shotzi talked about her feud with Bayley, during which the latter shaved off her opponent's hair. The 32-year-old revealed that her sister was going through chemotherapy and she wanted to support her by shaving off her hair.

However, the former WWE Women's Tag Team Champion also mentioned that she did not want to show up on TV out of the blue with no hair, so she asked Triple H to make it a part of a storyline to which The Game agreed.

"I still haven't really talked about it. My sister was going through chemotherapy, and she started losing her hair. And she told me that she didn't want to wait for it to all fall off, she's just going to shave it off, and I immediately went to Hunter and like, 'Hey, my sister is going through chemo, and like I want to support her, and I want to be there for her, and I want to shave my hair too. Can we not make it weird and make it part of a storyline? So that I just don't show up one day with no hair.' And he was totally for it," she said.

It remains to be seen what Shawn Michaels has planned for Shotzi's future on the developmental brand.

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