"They can erase me from history" – Former champion appreciated fans' response when WWE cut away from key moment

The 2022 WWE Women's Royal Rumble match began with a face-off between Sasha Banks and the returning Melina. In a recent interview, the latter gave her thoughts on the production team seemingly trying to cut away from her famous entrance.

Melina won the Women's Championship three times and the Divas Championship twice during her initial WWE run between 2004 and 2011. The 44-year-old used to perform the splits on the ring apron before ducking her head under the bottom rope to enter the ring.

Speaking to James Romero of WSI, Melina said the crowd's positive reaction to her return outweighed the negatives:

"The fans' response, that's all I'm gonna take away. That's all that matters. Whatever they try to take, they can erase me from history. Whatever the case may be, it's okay, I don't need that. I don't need validation. But when it comes to the fans, I die happy with that feeling that they gave me that day." [2:49 – 3:11]

Melina lasted 57 seconds in the match before Sasha Banks eliminated her. Many fans felt the five-time Women's Champion deserved more television time after being away from WWE for so many years.

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What happened during Melina's WWE Royal Rumble entrance?

As Melina approached ringside, WWE's cameras panned to Sasha Banks' face before showing an aerial view of the crowd from high up in the arena. The returning star then removed her entrance robe before walking up the steps to perform her usual entrance.

Melina said she purposely delayed doing the splits after she noticed the production team cut away from her:

"It [more time] would have been a more beautiful closing of a chapter for me when it came to WWE. Even though they took everything out, they even tried to take my entrance out. If you pay attention, maybe it's edited now, but I tried to do the entrance and they cut away. So then when I pulled back, and they didn't know I was gonna do that, they had to get it. I was like, 'Oh my goodness, why are you guys scr*wing with me?! It's been a long time since I've been here. I don't understand.'" [2:06 – 2:39]

In the same interview, Melina opened up about reports she was supposed to return to the company on a full-time basis in 2020.

What did you make of Melina's 2022 Women's Royal Rumble appearance? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit WSI and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.