In an exclusive interview with SoCal Val’s “The Velvet Ropes” for WrestlingNews.co, former WWE Women’s Champion Melina Perez shared her emotional and “beautiful” experience at the recent all-women’s premium live event, WWE Evolution. She called for the show to become an annual tradition, describing it as the “Women’s WrestleMania,” and recounted several full-circle moments she shared with her fellow legends. Scroll down or click here to watch the full interview.
A “Beautiful” Experience
Melina described the atmosphere backstage at the event as overwhelmingly positive, a reunion of friends from different eras. “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,” she said. “I’m surprised I didn’t cry the entire day, but I held it in.”
“The Women’s WrestleMania”
She expressed her belief that the event is too important to be a one-off and should be treated as the pinnacle of women’s wrestling. “It’s a shame that it’s the second… the first was a long time ago,” she stated, referencing the original 2018 event. “And now it’s a beautiful thing to finally see Evolution 2. I hope on everything, there needs to be an annual one. This is the women’s WrestleMania. It should be treated as such.”
Full-Circle Moments
For Melina, the night was a deeply personal and emotional experience that felt like her entire career coming together in one place. “It was like childhood me got to experience all the… people I loved while I was watching wrestling, the future of wrestling, the time I was in there, and everything mixed all into one,” she explained. “I told Trish that my first WWE experience, like live… was she was the only one on the card at a show that we went to, and me being there sitting ringside, it was like me, little me back then, with the dream of wanting to be a wrestler. And I got to watch it all over again.”
Sitting with Her Idols
She also shared what it was like to be surrounded by the women she looked up to when she was first starting her career. “And then to watch Torrie Wilson when I was younger, and I wanted to look like her, you know, I was like, ‘I want to be the dark haired Torrie,’ and I loved her, and to sit next to her. And then Molly Holly… Hall of Famers, it was just wow,” she recalled. “Everybody was just, it was, it was a dream for me, like, I know it wasn’t written for me, but it felt like the whole day was like the universe made it special and personal to me.”
Praise for the Current Roster
Melina was also effusive in her praise for the current generation of women who competed on the show. “They contributed to such an amazing show, and it wouldn’t be anything if it wasn’t for them,” she said. “It’s like they have to understand that it’s not anybody, it’s them. They made this show happen, and I hope they take so much pride in this.”
Fans in the UK will have a chance to see Melina live and in person next week. She will be bringing her “Unwritten” live show, featuring a meet and greet and Q&A, to The Cavendish Arms in London on August 23, 2025, from 3:30 to 5:30 PM. More information is available at RealMelina.com/london. SoCal Val’s full exclusive interview with Melina can be seen below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1CFKXSeI7s
