Zelina Vega Pulled From WWE Queen Of The Ring

WWE star Zelina Vega has been taken out of the ongoing Queen of the Ring tournament.

Vega was set to compete against Shayna Baszler in a tournament match at the non-televised live event in Macon, Georgia on May 12. However, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce announced via social media that she would be unable to wrestle, saying:

"Zelina Vega will not be medically cleared to compete tonight and therefore will be stepping out of the Queen of the Ring tournament, which is unfortunate given her past history as a Queen of the Ring, it would have been nice to see her try to regain that crown but (the) injury bug strikes again, which opens the door to opportunity for one Maxxine Dupri, who will receive the biggest opportunity of her young career as she will step in tonight against Shayna Baszler".

The nature of Vega's injury has not been disclosed. She last wrestled on the April 5 edition of SmackDown. 

Zelina commented on not being able to defend her crown, writing on X: 

"Heartbroken.. being the first ever, that crown was mi alma y corazón! That being said, I'm super grateful to have a history making moment in the @WWE history books. The 8yr old me is still super proud. @QoSBaszler this ain't over. You can be Queen of Spades, keep them playing cards.. I'll forever be the first EVER @WWE Queen Of The Ring. Maxine. You got this, sis. Show them who you are!!".

Baszler ultimately defeated Dupri to advance in the tournament, joining Lyra Valkyria, Zoey Stark and IYO SKY as Raw branded wrestlers who will move on to the next round. 

On the SmackDown side, Jade Cargill, Bianca Belair, Tiffany Stratton and Nia Jax have made it to the quarter-finals.

This year's Queen and King of the Ring tournaments have been beset by injuries. Xavier Woods, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley, Asuka and now Vega have all been pulled from the tournament thus far.

H/T F4WOnline