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Tag: Melina

  • WWE Alum Melina Returning To The Ring After 3 Years

    Former WWE Superstar Melina is set to make a return to the ring, and hopes that Paris, France is the setting of her triumphant return. On Facebook, Melina shared some photos of herself in the city of lights and hyped up her return to action.

    Coming back to Paris means so much to me. When I was young, I dreamed of this city, and when I finally made it here with WWE, we left so quickly it broke my heart. Still, the beauty, culture, and spirit of Paris stayed with me all these years.

    Now, I’m beyond happy to return—not only to enjoy the magic of France, but also to step into the ring once again in the city where I won my second title.

    Tomorrow, I’ll be wrestling at #dragattackparis —grateful for this chance, grateful for the people here, and grateful for all of you who continue to support me.

    Merci, Paris. Je t’aime. \"??\"\"??\"

    Melina\’s return to the ring comes three years after her most recent match for WrestlePro in May 2022. That match saw the former WWE Women\’s Champion lose to Scarlett Bordeaux, but Melina plans on a much different result this time around. Melina\’s match in Paris will come mere days before WWE takes over the French capital for their Clash in Paris PLE.

    It remains to be seen if Melina\’s return is a one-off, or the start of something bigger for the veteran wrestler. But with Melina proving she can still hit the splits in a separate Facebook post, fans can expect a nostalgic performance from the former Divas/Women\’s Champion.

    Melina Calls WWE Evolution The “Women’s WrestleMania”

  • Melina Calls WWE Evolution The \”Women\’s WrestleMania\”

    Former WWE Women\’s Champion Melina has reflected on her experience attending last month\’s all-women\’s premium live event, WWE Evolution 2. In a new interview, she called the show the \”women\’s WrestleMania\” and expressed her strong hope that it becomes an annual tradition for the company.

    Speaking to SoCalVal for WrestlingNews.Co, Melina described the atmosphere backstage at the July 13 event, where she was one of several legends in attendance.

    “It just felt beautiful going up to everybody, reunions everywhere, and then meeting new faces and faces that I’ve seen on TV and never really talked to,\” Melina said. \”I’m surprised I didn’t cry the entire day, but I held it in.”

    The former champion was adamant that the event should not be a one-off, but rather a yearly staple on the WWE calendar that celebrates the women\’s division.

    “It’s a shame that it’s the second… the first was a long time ago, and now it’s a beautiful thing to finally see Evolution 2,\” she stated. \”I hope on everything, there needs to be an annual one. This is the women’s WrestleMania. It should be treated as such.”

    Melina also had high praise for the current roster of female superstars who competed on the show. \”They contributed to such an amazing show, and it wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for them… They made this show happen, and I hope they take so much pride in this.”

  • Former WWE Star Melina Located and Safe

    Former WWE star Melina Perez has been reported safe after concerns were raised about her whereabouts amid the devastating Los Angeles wildfires.

    A Matter of Pride Wrestling, which had initially expressed fears over the former pro wrestler’s safety, provided an update on social media, stating, “We’re relieved to share that Melina has made contact and is safe. We want to thank everyone for their concern, support, and outreach during this time. Your kindness and compassion means the world to us”.

    The 45-year-old Los Angeles native had been unresponsive during the wildfire crisis, prompting worry from various wrestling organizations and fans.

  • Melina on the Negative Stigma to WWE\’s Divas Era: \”It\’s a Weird Thing\”

    Melina Perez is proud to have been a WWE Diva, despite what others may think of the term or of the Divas era.

    In the 1990s, WWE introduced the term \’Diva\’ to address female talent, and would retire the phrase in 2016, with the women being called \’Superstars\’ like their male counterparts.

    Despite the term once being a staple of WWE programming, Diva is now on WWE\’s banned terms list, never to be uttered on TV.

    Negative Stigma

    The Divas era has faced criticism from fans, as the focus was more on soap opera-style storylines than in-ring skill.

    The urban legend is that John Laurinaitis, then WWE\’s Head of Talent Relations, would hire talent using a binder of modeling photos, instead of seeking established female wrestlers.

    Speaking with MCW Backstage Pass, Melina addressed her time as a WWE Diva and the stigma around it (via 411 Mania.)

    \”It’s a weird thing, because ‘diva’ gets tied up with the model search and that’s not it. And that’s the hard part where the term ‘diva [era]’ is thought of as ‘model days’ right when it wasn’t even that — well kind of, but regardless, each woman who held that title did their best, gave it their all.

    \”the term ‘diva [era]’ is thought of as ‘model days’ right when it wasn’t even that.\”

    Melina

    \”I mean, blame the — I’m kind of blaming Diva Search. But it was really, you can’t blame them for getting an opportunity. It’s like Tough Enough, I mean you can’t blame the people who did Tough Enough, and that’s what the Diva Search was.\”

    A Change in Perspective

    Nowadays, WWE takes women\’s wrestling more seriously, with female matches often headlining TV.

    Speaking about the change, Melina said that she\’s pleased that there are more opportunities now, but doesn\’t regret her Divas era days.

    \”I’m never gonna change and look down on my time, because everyone’s like, ‘Okay, do you wish that you were in this era because of all the opportunity?’ No, I love what I went through.\”

    Melina last competed for WWE at the 2022 Royal Rumble, competing in the Women\’s Rumble match in her first match for the promotion in over a decade.

    Melina Wishes For One On One Match With Sasha Banks

  • Booker T Reveals Which Ex-WWE Women\’s Champ Locker Room Did Not Like

    Booker T has revealed one former WWE Women\’s Champion that the locker room wasn\’t a fan of during her time with the company.

    Recently, the two-time WWE Hall Of Famer took to his podcast \”The Hall Of Fame\” to discuss several professional wrestling topics. During that time, Booker touched on former WWE Women\’s Champion Melina, and her time with WWE.

    Booker noted “I really like Melina now,” but did admit that he “did not like Melina in her day, no one did.” This is something that has certainly been brought up by others before.

    Candace Michelle once noted that she and Melina \”hated each other\” and almost had a shoot fight inside the ring.

    Melina doesn\’t get recognized as a WWE legend the way her peers such as Trish Stratus and Lita do. Booker speculates if that\’s because “the departure of Melina more than anything.”

    “She was one of those that owned it, she wanted to be the best in the ring and she was hell to deal with in the locker room,” Booker said.

    “I think she would attest to that, perhaps, these days … And I have always said this, as far as talent go, there was nobody better than Melina.”

    He then went on to explain an interaction he had with Melina, admitting she was “very controversial in WWE when she was there,” but never doubted her greatness inside of the ring.

    When he got the opportunity to tell Melina that, she “almost started crying.”

    “None of it had to do with her in-ring prowess or anything like that,” Booker T said in regards to Melina\’s backstage heat. “… I said, ‘Melina, I always thought you were the best female wrestler in that damn locker room in your time,’ and I really believe that.”

    Melina hasn\’t been full-time with WWE since 2011. However, she has made sporadic appearances since then. She was a surprise entrant in the 2022 Women\’s Royal Rumble.

    Although there were rumors about her returning to the company, nothing ever came to fruition.

    Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

  • Two More Former WWE Stars Returning For Women’s Royal Rumble

    Fans can expect to see at least two more former WWE stars make a return to work the Women’s Royal Rumble match. 

    According to PWInsider, former Superstars Cameron and Melina are booked to be surprises for the bout. There are currently 11 spots available in the match and with these names added, WWE will have to fill 9 more spots. 

    As previously reported, WWE does not want to bring in too many NXT wrestlers for the match so that could mean even more former stars are coming in. 

    Melina worked for WWE from 2004 through 2011 where she was a two-time Divas Champion and a three-time Women’s Champion. There was some talk of her returning to the company in September 2020, but she confirmed a few months later that while the two sides did have a discussion, they couldn’t come to an agreement. She was last seen on WWE TV on January 4, 2021 at WWE Raw Legends Night.

    Cameron was under contract from 2011-2016. She did wrestle a match for AEW in 2020. 

    The following women have been announced for the match: Nikki A.S.H., Rhea Ripley, Tamina, Dana Brooke, Zelina Vega, Carmella, Aliyah, Natalya, Naomi, Shotzi Blackheart, Shayna Baszler, Charlotte Flair, Mickie James, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Lita, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, and Summer Rae.

  • Four Matches Added To Impact Emergence

    The Impact Emergence card has been finalized.

    Tomorrow night (Aug. 20), Emergence will air on Impact Plus. In the main event, Christian Cage will defend the Impact Wrestling World Championship against Brian Myers. Also set for the card will be an X-Division Title clash between champion Josh Alexander and Jake Something. The Impact World Tag Team Titles will also be on the line as Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson meet Violent By Design, and the team of Rich Swann and Willie Mack.

    We now have four more matches to round out the event. On the go-home show for Emergence, it was announced that Decay will collide with Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans, Fallah Bahh & No Way. Another newly announced matchup is Deonna Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Melina and Trey Miguel.

    Also announced on the recent episode of Impact is a one-on-one match between Matt Cardona and Rohit Raju. It was also revealed that Madison Rayne is making her return to take on Taylor Wilde.

    Here\’s a look at the final Emergence card.

    • Christian Cage (c) vs. Brian Myers – for Impact Wrestling World Title
    • Josh Alexander (c) vs. Jake Something – For X-Division Title
    • Impact World Tag Team Championship:
    • The Good Brothers (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) (c) vs. Violent By Design vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack – for Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Titles
    • Deonna Purrazzo & Matthew Rehwoldt vs. Melina & Trey Miguel
    • Decay vs. Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans, Fallah Bahh & No Way
    • Matt Cardona vs. Rohit Raju
    • Madison Rayne vs. Taylor Wilde
    • Steve Maclin vs. Petey Williams

  • Melina Clarifies Reports About Her WWE Return

    Former WWE women\’s champion Melina was reported to have agreed to a new contract with the company late last year but she never returned to the promotion as people were expecting.

    The female star recently had an interview with WrestleTalk where she cleared the air on her status with the promotion and the reports of her return.

    Melina first confirmed that she had talks with the company officials about a potential return last year. However, she revealed that she couldn\’t sign a contract because of her injured knee:

    “It was talks of [a return]. Talks of seeing if it was possible and all that stuff. Everyone made such a big deal out of it. I was in talks with [WWE], but I never signed a contract,

    There was nothing going on.\” said Melina, \”Just ‘hey would you consider, would you be open?’. I’m like ‘hell yeah’. Well it turned out I have like a bad knee, and I can’t wrestle.”

    The former diva\’s champion also explained that her re-signing wasn\’t guaranteed even if she didn\’t have a bad knee and it was possible that the company might not have signed her even if she was cleared:

    “Who knows if I didn’t have a bad knee if they would have signed me? Or you never know, if I had a good knee they wanted to see if I was open to it, but probably not get signed. That’s just the way wrestling is. It’s never a guarantee.”

    Melina has not been a part of the WWE roster since her release in 2011. Though she did make a cameo during the Raw legends night earlier this year in January.

  • Melina Responds To Fan Asking About Reports She Signed With WWE

    Melina has further commented on reports that she had signed with WWE. 

    It was first reported by PWinsider.com back in September that she had come to terms with the company to make a return. There was even talk of her being part of the RAW roster when she did come back as a full-time performer on WWE television. 

    A few days after the initial report came out, she expressed her frustration with wrestling news websites about it. 

    She responded to a fan on Twitter asking what happened to her WWE return. She wrote the following:

    “The dirt sheets lie about stuff like that for clicks. That’s why I was upset a few months back. The dirt sheets lie about so much & fans deserve better. Best to follow the promotions & the wrestlers, along with people like @VickieGuerrero, @LilianGarcia & @ChrisVanVliet.”

    It has to be noted that while Melina is denying that she signed with WWE and perhaps that is indeed the case, there have been past instances of wrestlers not always telling the truth as a way to keep things a surprise such as WALTER.

    https://twitter.com/WalterAUT/status/969265942705434624

    Her last appearance on WWE television came in July 2019 when she made a cameo on the RAW Reunion edition.

    Melina Denies Reports She’s Signed With WWE