Stephanie Vaquer’s illness almost cost La Primera her WWE WrestlePalooza appearance.
Vaquer made history by becoming the first Chilean woman to win a WWE World Championship. She defeated IYO SKY to capture the vacant Women’s World Championship at WrestlePalooza, picking up the victory with a stunning corkscrew moonsault.
However, the road to WrestlePalooza wasn’t easy for La Primera. As Vaquer revealed in a vlog on the WWE Español YouTube channel, her illness nearly forced the company to call off the match in the lead-up to the PLE.
“What happened was, unfortunately, I had not been feeling well for the past two weeks,” she said. “I was sick, so I did not feel good physically and, on Sunday, the medical team told me not to participate on Raw on Monday. They spoke with the executives, and I was removed from Raw. They also told me that if I could not make it to Raw, I would no longer be part of WrestlePalooza, which I completely understood, but I still felt healthy enough to wrestle, so I did everything possible. On Monday Morning, I went to the doctor, and by noon, I was cleared to compete. Around 12 pm and 2 pm, I was already on the airport to head to Raw. Everything was very last-minute, and they were even preparing to announce that I was not cleared for Wrestlepalooza on Saturday.”
Stephanie Vaquer explains how she overcame her illness setback
“They ran every kind of test on me, and thankfully, I am cleared to compete. Maybe I am not in my absolute best condition after being sick for almost three weeks, but I have the clearance to compete. Everything happens for a reason, and everything worked out perfectly so I could compete for the title at WrestlePalooza, but it was very difficult to recover my body in 5 days. Sometimes, you don’t always wrestle with your body, but with your heart, and I have that very present. My body may not be at 100% but my heart always is at 100%.
“It is hard to fully heal in just five days, but you do not always wrestle with your body; you wrestle with your heart. While my body might not be one hundred percent, my heart is always one hundred percent.” [H/T Fightful]
Reports in the lead-up to WWE WrestlePalooza claimed that Stephanie Vaquer was dealing with an injury—a rumor she later cleared up on social media. Vaquer is scheduled to challenge the winner of this week’s WWE Women’s Championship triple threat match featuring Tiffany Stratton, Naomi, and Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship at Crown Jewel: Perth.
Also read: Stephanie Vaquer Receives Praise From Her Boyfriend, NXT’s Myles Borne Following World Title Win
