More on Zelina Vega’s Return to WWE

This past Friday’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown featured the surprise return of Zelina Vega to WWE. This was the first time Vega appeared on WWE programming since her release in November of 2020 over issues regarding WWE’s ban on their talent having outside third party accounts and sponsorships.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that following Vega’s release, several within the company had felt that she should have been retained and not released over the issues between the two sides at the time. Johnson reported that those same people had also pushed for conversations between the two sides to continue. These talks reportedly included WWE executives apologizing to Vega over her release and made an offer for her potential return to the company.

Johnson reported that one of his sources stated that a deal between the two sides was made this past May but was kept a secret in order for WWE officials to strategize plans for her return. Vega reportedly was seen backstage during last week’s SmackDown tapings but had not appeared at any other tapings prior to that point.

In regards to the status of her new contract, Fightful Select reported that their sources within the company have yet to hear of WWE adding in terms to new contracts preventing talent from owning outside third party accounts, which was the original source of the dispute between Vega and WWE. It was also reported that it is currently not known if that topic was addressed during the talks between the two sides for a new deal although at the moment, Vega’s Twitch account is still active but has been mainly used by her husband Aleister Black since his release in June.

Fightful Select also reported that Vega is currently listed as a heel for the SmackDown brand on WWE’s internal roster sheet. Vega’s name reportedly has been listed on the internal roster sheet for almost a month.