Former WWE star Maria Kanellis believes that Roxanne Perez from NXT 2.0 has the potential to emulate Becky Lynch and become one of the top stars in WWE.
Becky Lynch's success on the main roster began in 2018 when a heel turn helped her developed "The Man" character and become one of the most popular stars in professional wrestling.
Her success would continue for over a year before she took a hiatus for 13 months. Upon her return, she won the SmackDown Women's Championship and then had a lengthy RAW Women's title reign that only ended at WrestleMania 38 when she lost to Bianca Belair.
One of the rising stars on NXT 2.0 is Roxanne Perez (fka Rok-C), who debuted in April 2022. Her biggest win to date was a surprise victory over Toxic Attraction's Jacy Jayne.
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Speaking on the Bleav in Pro Wrestling Podcast, ex-WWE star Maria Kanellis praised Roxanne and said that she has what it takes to reach Becky Lynch's level:
“I hesitate to say this because I don’t like anybody comparing anybody to anyone else, but the ability that you have in Becky Lynch, you have in Roxanne. I think that is only going to continue to grow. Of course, she’s still got things she has to work on but I think at some point, Roxanne will be on the same level as Becky.” (H/T ITR Wrestling)
Maria Kanellis elaborated that Perez has all the tools to make it big:
“She has the technique down. She has the story, she has the heart. She used to ride the bus to go to wrestling training before she could drive a car or anything like that. She rode a bus so she could go to training.”
At just 20 years of age, Roxanne fits in perfectly with WWE's new direction of pushing younger superstars. This will allow her a good deal of time to develop before making it onto the main roster.
Becky Lynch took years to reach the top
While Becky Lynch's recent years have seen her become among the most successful women in WWE history, the level she reached took a while to get to.
She was never the primary focus during her NXT tenure as the other three Horsewomen Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley were all the focal points of the women's division.
However, in hindsight, NXT was only a small chapter in Becky Lynch's career. It allowed her to develop the base of her character that she eventually reinvented on the main roster.
The reinvention was key to her eventual success, and it's likely to be the key to any success that Roxane will/could have in the future. It will be interesting to follow Roxanne Perez and see how she fares in the long run.
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