Stephanie Vaquer Almost Had Her Championship Match At WWE Wrestlepalooza Called Off

Vaquer recently appeared in a vlog for WWE Spanish on YouTube and confirmed she had been struggling with an illness for a few weeks, something first reported by The Takedown On SI. She also revealed how close WWE was to calling off her championship match with Iyo Sky entirely due to her medical status.

“What happened was, unfortunately, I had not been feeling well for the past two weeks. I was sick, so I did not feel good physically and, on Sunday, the medical team told me not to participate on Raw on Monday. They spoke with the executives, and I was removed from Raw. They also told me that if I could not make it to Raw, I would no longer be part of Wrestlepalooza, which I completely understood,"Vaquer on possibly missing Wrestlepalooz

Triple H announced Vaquer's battle with illness after Wrestlepalooza on the post-show. These medical issues for Vaquer was the main reason for the delay in her championship opportunity. Vaquer won a 20-woman Battle Royal at WWE Evolution July 13 and just recently received her opportunity.

"I'll let everybody in on a behind-the-scenes secret to Stephanie: in the last few weeks, Stephanie has been very sick...It was why there was some odd build to it and she was able to feel well enough and get cleared medically tonight,"Triple H

Triple H admitted that the timing of the match and the way it was built was "odd" for this reason. Vaquer elaborated more on what the process of getting cleared was like during the weekend of Wrestlepalooza.

While Vaquer may have been cleared last-minute for Wrestlepalooza, she was not fully healthy to compete. Fans would never know it considering how effortlessly she seems to perform in the ring, but Vaquer wrestled her championship with some lingering symptoms of her illness.

"I still felt healthy enough to wrestle, so I did everything possible. On Monday Morning, I went to the doctor, and by noon, I was cleared to compete. Around 12 pm and 2 pm, I was already on the airport to head to Raw. Everything was very last-minute, and they were even preparing to announce that I was not cleared for Wrestlepalooza on Saturday."

Vaquer was mentally preparing herself to accept a postponement in her match with Sky. The new women's champion admitted to not being in great physical condition at Wrestlepalooza, but she was grateful to be cleared to compete despite not being at full health and strength.

"They ran every kind of test on me, and thankfully, I am cleared to compete. Maybe I am not in my absolute best condition after being sick for almost three weeks, but I have the clearance to compete. Everything happens for a reason, and everything worked out perfectly so I could compete for the title at Wrestlepalooza,"

It wasn't easy for Vaquer to recover just enough to be cleared. She admitted having to recover in a short amount of time was a difficult task but that everything happens for a reason and she's appreciative of how the moment took place.

"But it was very difficult to recover my body in 5 days. Sometimes, you don’t always wrestle with your body, but with your heart, and I have that very present. My body may not be at 100% but my heart always is at 100...it is hard to fully heal in just five days, but you do not always wrestle with your body; you wrestle with your heart. While my body might not be one hundred percent, my heart is always one hundred percent.”Stephanie Vaquer

Vaquer soldiered on through the match and became WWE Women's World champion by pinning Sky at Wrestlepalooza. With World Heavyweight champion Seth Rollins set to face WWE Undisputed champion Cody Rhodes, Vaquer is set to face the winner of Jade Cargill, Nia Jax, and WWE Women's champion Tiffany Stratton this Friday night on Smackdown.