Raquel Rodriguez made an appearance on the latest episode of Insight With Chris Van Vliet to discuss a wide range of topics, including her battle with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS).
She shared the news in January 2024 after being sidelined. She returned the following month before going on hiatus in March. She was sidelined for seven months before returning to help Liv Morgan retain the Women’s World Title at Bad Blood. Here are the highlights:
On battling her illness:
“So I never really got a full diagnosis to be honest with you. They said it was mast cell activation syndrome, but I got tested and that didn’t come out positive. Mast cell activation syndrome, for people who don’t know, it just means your body is having a constant allergic reaction to everything, like things you were never allergic to before. Your body is just so confused from maybe stress, maybe trauma. It could be a lot of things, but now you just have a sensitive nervous system, and your body is just reacting to anything, like auto-immune.”
“I’ve always had eczema, even when I was younger, but it was very small areas right here, and so I think it was like 2023 I started seeing a little bit of eczema pop up on my face. I was like this is kind of weird. Maybe it could be some of the makeup because when I was little, makeup made me react. I was like, it’s fine. It would come and it would go. It shows up for a day like today. I think just from having such a long day yesterday and my bag getting lost and a lack of sleep, my body’s immune system is kind of lessened. So after last night’s match, and the makeup and stuff like that, I think I had a small reaction just under my eyes and on my neck, which is random, because I don’t put makeup here. So honestly, it’s a puzzle. I’m still trying to figure it out. I still don’t know what it is. I still don’t know what’s triggering me. I think I have a little bit of mast cell, even though I wasn’t tested for it. I think you can still have some sort of it, because my body just reacts at random times.”
On her time away:
“Well at the time that whole year I was actually like these reactions, I can deal with this. I can show up and I can be confident that I don’t need to wear makeup today. I have some eyeliner on, some eyelashes, and that’s about it, a little lipstick and I’m like that’s okay. This is my life, and I want to be open about it. I want people to know who are allergic to makeup that you’re beautiful and you don’t have to wear it, but at the time, a year ago I was swelling up. It was to the point where I was unrecognizable to myself. I was looking in the mirror, and I was like, who is she? Who is this person? I avoided mirrors. I avoided cameras. I avoided phones. I didn’t want to know anything about the outside world because I was just in such a dark place physically, and it was physically taxing, but I know that was taking such a big toll on me mentally. I told myself I cannot stay here, that this is right now, but this isn’t forever. I have to tell myself that it’s gonna get better. I just kept telling myself that, and I think that really, really helps your mental state when you’re in these conditions and you can’t control it, because it’s out of my control. I just kept telling myself, this isn’t forever. You’re gonna get through this, and again, my family. I’m so, so blessed because I have such a strong family that was there for me. My six-year-old niece is praying for God to take the redness away. She doesn’t have to do that, but she does that. She does that for me every night. I have amazing friends, Liv constantly checking on me, makeup always checking on me. Just really, really amazing people that wanted to come visit me, but it was something I had to get through by myself, for sure.”
On continuing to struggle with her condition:
“I think that’s what really crushed me at first too, because this was my dream job. I worked so hard to get here. I did everything possible, and I felt like it was getting taken away from me. I was like, no way I could be a wrestler with red skin all the time. We watched Elimination Chamber from last year, and as Liv and I are doing the commentary, watching it back and stuff, my entrance happens and I just started bawling again because I remember being in that moment and being in Australia with my face swollen, having to take a steroid shot and having to stay in my hotel because I didn’t want people to see me that way, and I didn’t want my co-workers to see me that way. I just felt weak. I just felt so helpless and so weak. So it was a really tough re-watch for me to watch Elimination Chamber again last year, but I know everyone’s like, ‘No you should be so proud. You were so brave going out there, like red and with no makeup’ but deep down, it was really, really hard for me.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Insight With Chris Van Vliet with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
