Ahead of managing Legado del Fantasma down to the ring for their match against Hit Row plus a mystery third man – who ended up being β€œThe King of Strong Style,” Shinsuke Nakamura instead of the hot name on Twitter, Carmelo Hayes – Zelena Vega sat down with the fine folks over at Busted Open Radio to discuss what it was like to be given such a prominent role in one of the ex-NXT factions Paul β€œTriple H” Levesque is looking to push in WWE moving forward, as transcribed by Fightful.

β€œThe nice thing is, I feel I have a little more control over where I'm going now,” Vega said. β€œNow, people are able to see me in a similar light, but they have no idea what's going to come after this. They have no idea why I'm with the group I'm with. I think all of these questions are going to be answered soon. That's the fun part. You keep having people wanting more. One thing people have always wanted to see is, β€˜when is Zelina going to be in the title picture? When is Zelina going to be the leader for herself?' I'm gonna be, but I've never aligned myself with people that I didn't see as stars. This group is on another level. To be able to help introduce them to the WWE Universe, it's a new chapter in my life. I'm excited to bring them to the forefront, but also, I'm right front and center. It's cool.”

When given a chance to actually be front and center, Vega has proven that she can keep fans attention in a big way both as a manager to the likes of Andrade and as a solo performer who was able to win the Queen of the Ring tournament with a big-time W over Doudrop.

β€œI'm the person you can trust,” she said. β€œI'm the person where, when you need to have something done, when you need something to be good, when you need something to be over, you choose me. It makes perfect sense. The group that I'm with, they want to succeed, they want to upgrade, what do they do? They call me. Going forward, I've upgraded other people, I've upgraded myself, I feel now I'm on a completely different level. It's just going to get better and better and I'm excited for everyone to see.”

With Vega, Santos Escobar, and the LDF boys already being booked like one of the hottest acts in the WWE Universe as a whole, it looks like this seemingly random pairing is going to be money for a very long time on the main roster.

Zelena Vega is finally enjoying the fruits of her patience with WWE.

Elsewhere in her interview with Busted Open Radio, Vega was asked what it was like to have her in-ring career feature so many stops and starts and gave a very interesting answer, as transcribed by Fightful.

β€œI had those questions like, β€˜Can I do this by myself? Can I carry all about me?' D*mn right I can. Then, I became Queen,” she said. β€œNow, it's taking both parts and combining them together and doing this for me but also doing this for my team and getting people to see that side of me. For the longest time I was like, β€˜Damn, they have no idea what they have.' I always told them, β€˜Give me the ball. If I drop it, screw me, but you'll never know until you try.' Now, it's become that you have to trust people and be willing to go the extra mile and give people that chance. Look at Liv Morgan, the fans wanted it so bad for her and you give people that chance and see what it turns into. It's cool to have fans feel like they're listened to.”

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β€œI heard from so many different people, β€˜it's just a matter of time. When is Zelina going to get this chance?' I'm waiting. I'm here. For the longest, I felt like they were afraid to do it. The only thing they're going to regret is that they didn't do it sooner, that they didn't take a chance on me sooner. They have no idea. This is one side of me, and you're getting a different side now, but imagine what could happen if you actually give me the ball to just be me and have that opportunity. I feel like, for the longest, they were afraid to do it. What's stopping you? Clearly, I can do for me alone, I can do it for other people, why not give me the actual chance? Are they afraid? What could you really lose when it comes to me? I've handled literally everything that has been handed to me. I think it's just a matter of time.”

Fortunately, according to Dave Meltzer, WWE decided to go with Vega over Electra Lopez as the new manager of LDF because of her ability to work in the ring with Hit Row's green manager B-Fab – a decision that paid off in their match on SmackDown – so it looks like the IRL wife of Malakai Black will get to talk her boys down to the ring and mix it up a little bit between the bells too.