In a new interview, Roxanne Perez shared the emotional and “crazy” story of how she received “the call” from WWE, a moment of perfect timing that came during one of the most uncertain periods of her young career. Before signing with WWE, Perez, then known as Rok-C, had made a name for herself as the inaugural and youngest-ever Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion. However, her championship reign ended with the news that ROH would be going on hiatus and releasing all of its talent, leaving the then-20-year-old’s future in doubt.
A Scary Time
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on his Insight podcast, Perez described the fear and uncertainty she felt after being informed that she was being let go from Ring of Honor, the company where she had just achieved the biggest success of her career.
“It definitely was scary. Because I was getting paid by them, and then it was like, Okay, well, I don’t know if WWE has fully seen everything I can do yet. I don’t know if they’re super interested in me yet, and now it’s kind of like, where do I go from here? But I knew that everything would work out regardless. I just had to figure it out.”
“The Call I’ve Always Dreamt Of”
Perez then recalled the incredible story of what happened next. During the final television taping for Ring of Honor, surrounded by her fellow wrestlers who were all facing an unknown future, she received a phone call from an unknown number. It was William Regal.
“I remember the very last taping of Ring of Honor. We were all sitting in one of the rooms watching the monitor, and I got a random call. I answer it, and I just hear, ‘Is this Rok?’ And I was like, I’m sorry. He’s like, ‘Is this Rok? This is William Regal with the WWE.’ And I was like, oh, yeah, sure, this is Rok. And he’s like, ‘You know, we’ve seen a lot of your work, and we would love to have you down here for a tryout.’ And that was crazy. I literally just started crying immediately, because I was like, oh my God, this is the call that I’ve always dreamt of, and it’s on the last taping of Ring of Honor. Who would have thought, you know, it was perfect timing. I was like, yes, absolutely, I would be there. I called my mom, and she was crying too. She was like, Oh my gosh, this is amazing.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
