WWE’s Gross Mishandling Of Stephanie Vaquer’s 1st Title Shot

Stephanie Vaquer has not exactly had the smoothest first 13 or so months in WWE. Her latest mischance came on Monday’s episode of Raw, general manager Adam Pearce told her that she was off this coming Sunday’s Clash in Paris card.

Vaquer had been scheduled to challenge Naomi for the Women’s World Championship – a shot that she had earned at last month’s all-female Evolution event. However, those plans were scrapped after Naomi announced her real-life pregnancy.

Arguably, it marks a new low point for what had been regarded as one of the most shocking signings in company history. It should even raise the question: did she make the right decision for herself?

The Initial Rise: A Primer

To understand how this situation came to be, one must go back to July 2024.

Vaquer was coming off a double-title match against Mercedes Mone at AEW’s Forbidden Door. Though she lost, she had greatly elevated her profile, which was apparently enough for WWE to come in with an irresistible offer. It came as a shock, for two reasons.

First, Vaquer was a double champion in CMLL at the time. Second, that promotion has been an AEW partner since 2023, and she was expected to be a key figure in that relationship. In fact, her signing proved so controversial that AEW soon changed its policy to give CMLL talent dual contracts.

Upon arriving in WWE, Vaquer got a strong push in NXT. She won the Women’s North American Championship, then the NXT Women’s Championship, becoming the first person to hold both belts at the same time. But three months into her reign with the latter, she was dethroned by Jacy Jayne.

Main-Roster Disappointment

The discourse surrounding Vaquer’s loss to Jayne was that it happened to expedite her promotion to the main roster. At the time, WWE was in the midst of a purge that involved multiple talents like Cora Jade, Gigi Dolin, and Jakara Jackson. Thus, it needed an influx of new names.

The way it has handled Vaquer, however, has left much to be desired. She was pegged as a central figure in the relationship with the recently-acquired AAA despite not having competed in that promotion at all. She has had some matches, but other than a Money in the Bank match, they have been insignificant.

Moreover, she has not competed since being on the winning side of an eight-woman tussle on Raw late last month, which leads to her current predicament. That represents a major neglect of someone who should be a key factor into WWE’s growth in Latin America.

It is, in some aspects, similar to the case of her peer Giulia. Herself a former NXT Women’s Champion, she had a rather rushed introduction, teaming with former rival Roxanne Perez in a spot that was clearly meant to be Jade’s. She has since become the Women’s United States Champion but has also suffered from a lack of attention, with her defenses happening before or after PLEs.