Melina On Evolution PLE Ahead Of Her 20 Year WWE Debut Anniversary: "It's Something That I Feel Like I Would Like To See Every Year"

There are performers who define specific eras in wrestling, and those who were trailblazers and innovators in their time who paved the way for those after. The first multi-time WWE Divas Champion and Womens Champion, and part of the first of many women's matches not previously done before, former WWE Superstar Melina meets all the criteria above.

Speaking exclusively to ScreenRant ahead of both the 20-year anniversary of her WWE debut, and her upcoming appearance at River City Wrestling Con in June, she spoke about her legacy and her influence, and gave her thoughts on making the Evolution PLEs a permanent part of the WWE landscape.

20 Years Ago, Melina Helped Define the Divas Era

"The Company Trusted Me With That, And That Was Such An Honor"

Melina would quickly become a part of WWE after a stint in Ohio Valley Wrestling, and in a few short years, she would become an integral part of the women's division in WWE, becoming WWE Women's Champion, the first of Mexican-American heritage, within two years of her first appearance. As the division grew, she transitioned to Raw to compete, and ultimately won the WWE Divas Championship. Over the span of seven years, she became a two-time Women's Champion and three-time Divas Champion, becoming the first woman to hold both championships multiple times.

Debuting in WWE in 2005, Melina was at the forefront of the women's wrestling revolution, whether she knew it at the time or not. But when asked about her expectations, she said she was just grateful to even be there.

"One part of me was 'whatever I got, I was grateful for it', because back in those days, as someone of ethnicity, I felt like I didn't see a lot of people who looked like me represented. So even if I just was there for a couple for a couple of months, or just even for a little tidbit, that was something special for me that some people in my family could. A lot of people can't say they've been on WWE for even just a little segment. So any little bit was just such a big deal, especially with my culture and everything. So I was just appreciative of the whole entire ride. Like, wrestling, I never thought I could be a part of wrestling. That was only for people like the Harts, and if you have a legacy going, that's what I thought back in those days. The whole entire trip was just beautiful to me, and what I hoped for was that I could get my foot in the door and learn to be a wrestler more so than I already have, because you could only learn so much in the Indies, and especially when there's no women to work with. There were just no women at my school, so I was just so happy."

In addition to the multi-time championship accolade, she was one of the first women to compete in a Falls Count Anywhere match and an "I Quit" match, adding to the firsts that would define her career. Melina says she felt honored to be trusted with those choices, something that she doesn't take for granted.

"That's an honor because to me, that's bigger than any I don't know, award or even a title, because the person that I became in the ring is somebody that they saw that I can tell a story, my character can tell a story. I have the psychology to be able to do that and the knowledge of how to make somebody else look good."
"Because I could have been doing flips. [Sensational] Sherri was the one who told me, she said, 'Do not go to the top rope.' I kept thinking like, 'What? Why?' Then everybody explained to me that it's because if you're in it for years, and this is decades worth of wrestling, your body has wear and tear. If something were to ever happen and something happens on the top rope, or people expect you to hit that move all the time, and you have this injury where you can't do that move anymore, then that shortens your career because then people aren't with you as much because they know you for that. I was I'm like, Oh, okay. I'm like, I do want to protect my joints. I do want to protect my knees and stuff. Everything made sense. So I'm like, Okay, it's not about the glory in that moment that I did the best move. It's about the art. And so I started being the person who could take any talent, no matter what their experience level, and create a story, bring out their strengths, hide their weaknesses, and just make it into just drama. The company trusted me with that, and that was such an honor."
"I was working every week, so I was working every house show, every TV show for years until my injury, and then back on again. But then the second injury is when he started dying down. But all those years, though, it was such an honor that they trusted me with each girl and even the guys being able to work with them, because not a lot of women work with guys at the time, because they're never there for their spots, or they forget. So that was an honor. So with the titles, it meant a lot that you're going to make it mean something when you win it and when you lose it. It means something."

Giving Flowers to Those Who Influenced Her

"We're Planting Seeds Everywhere We Go"

Although the landscape was very different back when she first started, Melina says she was grateful for the influence some of the pioneers of women's wrestling gave her, and how that influence helped her create some of her most memorable moments inside WWE, including for the very first women's "I Quit" match with Beth Phoenix at 2008's One Night Stand.

Well, the biggest was always Sensational Sherri, because I watched 'Glow.' I love 'Glow.' I know back in the day, people thought, 'Oh, it's just these girls throwing each other.' It's not their fault. They were actresses and everything. But if you look at it, the cat fighting. If you've been in a fight or anything or seeing people just go at it, there is no taking care of each other in some of those aspects where I was like, 'Oh, my God. She really just got slammed against that wall. What? She got dropped to the floor. She almost ripped out her hair for real!'"
"They worked hard to make it what it is. They tried their best in the time that they did, and it was just like, so the psychology of it, you get little bits and pieces, and they deserve so much credit. But I give credit to everybody. I also say Bull Nakano and Madusa because they were my inspiration for the I Quit match. I watched this one match, and that one match stayed in my brain forever. I wanted to recreate it. Paige ended up doing - or Saraya - she ended up having that hold as a finisher, and that's the hold that I saw Bull Nakano do to Madusa. I always wanted it. As a kid, I thought, She's hurting her. Oh, my God. She bent her in half. That stayed with me, that feeling and that concern. When I had that I Quit match, I thought of her and that and I wanted to recreate it. But Beth [Phoenix] said that I was too flexible, so she couldn't lock me into that because I kept squishing down. That's why she ended up sitting on the floor and then doing it."
"Sensational Sherri was it. That woman did everything. She did everything. In a time where women were not supposed to be wrestling because they banned women's wrestling for a time. And she was in main events. She was in every show. She made it happen. And I thought that she didn't have to be an actual wrestler and doing these crazy things, her character, her personality, her energy, and also how good she was as a psychology. She was able to be there and know the psychology in a man's world. She was able to make it happen. I thought it was so brilliant. I loved her so much for that. She entertained me, and she also taught me."

In the past year, WWE has had a major focus on training the next generation of Superstars to become the next big stars, rolling out the WWEID program to identify independent wrestlers who could become the next big stars, the A&E television show "LFG" featuring The Undertaker, Bubba Ray Dudley, Mickie James, and Booker T as coaches, and a multi-year agreement with TNA Wrestling. When asked to reflect on the best lesson she was taught during her training, she said something that Bubba Ray told her that has stuck with her throughout her career, and something that she hopes she can impart on the current crop of women's wrestlers.

"The way [Bubba] explained it was, 'You're planting seeds everywhere you go, as if this is the first time anybody's ever going to see you. Don't assume that everybody knows you.' I do that with life, too. Some people get upset. 'You don't know who I am?' 'No, I don't. I don't know who you are.' When people don't know who I am, it's a good thing because they actually see the person that I am. If they have a good experience of the person that I am, then that actually helps in my wrestling because since they liked me, they're like, 'I'll go watch. I'll go watch you. I'll go Google and go watch videos' and stuff like that. You never know who the other person is, and you should never get offended that they don't know you. Just go out there and perform as if it's the first time somebody has seen you and turned them into a wrestling fan. I love that he said, 'We're planting seeds everywhere we go.' Every time you step into the ring, it's a commercial for you, for your work. I'm like, 'Okay, that's why I will never go into the ring. I want to be better than the last time I stepped into a ring.'"

Melina Reflects On Evolution 2 And Another All-Womens' PLE

"It's Something That I Feel Like I Would Like To See Every Year"

Although Melina was a multi-time Womens Champion and Divas Champion, she was absent from 2018's Evolution premium live event, the first all-women's event focused on women's wrestling, past, present, and future. The event, celebrated by critics and fans alike as innovative and long overdue for another run, a hope Bayley amplified to us ahead of the Royal Rumble in February.

With recent reports indicating that another Evolution PLE is imminent, Melina is hopeful to see not only another Evolution PLE this year, but also an Evolution PLE every single year.

"I think that it's better to do it now than never because it's been so long. It was just so heartbreaking to think this was the one-time deal. Now we wait all these years and still nothing with all the talent that they have on their roster. It's hard for the women because even with three hours, and even with two days of wrestling, you still don't get to showcase all the talent that you have. It'll be something really good for all the women to come together and just be strong together on a single show. It's just the camaraderie would be so beautiful. It's something that I feel like I would like to see every year. I would really like to see that."

Melina On Her Legacy And That Royal Rumble Pop

"The Character Was So Entertaining That They Missed Her and They Loved Her"

Even though Melina missed out on the 2018 Evolution show, she made her triumphant return to WWE at the 2022 Royal Rumble as one of the surprise entrants at number two after Sasha Banks. The crowd went crazy for her, giving her the hero's welcome she so rightfully deserved.

"I had a match set up, just me and Sasha, and we had a bunch of stuff planned out, and I was ready for it because it was good. She's such a great athlete. She's able to execute all these things, so I didn't have to worry about like, 'Okay, do I have to be there for you?' It was just effortless, beautiful storytelling. Then they came around and they told us, 'Oh, yeah, we're cutting everything out. You just get thrown out.' I was like, 'Are you serious? Do I at least get my entrance?' And they're like, 'Let me see. Okay, you'll keep your entrance.' I was like, 'Thanks.' I thought, 'Okay, at least what I could do is go out there and be heel, have that heel look and be all angry, maybe crap talk to Sasha because she's a baby face, and put her over.' I had the intent like, 'I'm going to go be a b****." And then as soon as I got out there and I heard the pop, I started crying. Oh, my gosh, I couldn't control it. I was just like, I want to hug all of you. Thank you."
"Honestly, if I got hit by a bus later that night or the next day, I'd be happy. I'd be okay, life fulfilled, because it was such a beautiful feeling. You go through your career thinking, 'Did I do enough?' There's so many in a wrestler's career, I'm sure, because I know I felt that way when I got injured. It's hard to be at home thinking, 'Are people going to forget you? Are they going to replace you? Is this the end of your career? Does it even matter? Did you do anything?' That's the way I felt thinking, in that moment in time, you have those ups and downs of, 'Are you going to be forgotten? Did you do anything that made a difference in wrestling?' When I heard that pop, that's where I knew that I didn't have to be the best wrestler, the strongest, the prettiest. The character was so entertaining that they missed her and they loved her. I wanted to hug each and every person because thank you for getting it. I just I wanted to hug each and every one of them. It was beautiful."
"That night at the Rumble, there was so much happiness and love. I felt that, and I wish I could just take it and give it to everybody so they could feel that because everybody deserves that feeling. And that's why I hope every time I hug somebody, I'm like, I hope I could give you a little piece of that. Because it's us as a whole, the viewers. I know I was a fan watching wrestling, and they gave that to me. So now I was there, and now I give it that to them. You don't have to be a wrestler to deserve love or get that love. Just know that you being a loving person, you are that beautiful entity in life. You don't have to be in front of the camera to be that special person because each and every one of them are that special person to me."

Melina feels at home when meeting her fans at conventions, and mentions how excited she is to be a part of many opportunities coming up, including the River City Wrestling Con starting June 7th, as well as "Divas and Drag Wrestling!" ahead of WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, which takes place April 17th and focuses on the celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community that has been one of the most vocally supportive of her. On top of the excitement she feels for "Divas and Drag Wrestling!", Melina mentioned how excited she was to go back to River City and experience the same energy and love she felt the first time around.

I love positive places and positive people. Everybody there was so sweet. Then the families, all over so many families, more than most places. I was just like, I love it. My last experience, I was like, 'I love talking to everybody there. Thank you for your kindness.' Keep bringing it in. Go see all the wrestlers there so you could share your kindness with each and every one of them because we love to see you guys.

When asked to sum up her career in one word, Melina reflected before stating she doesn't see one moment as fully defining, but rather a culmination of many small moments in her career, something that has allowed her to reflect positively on her 20-year wrestling journey, and something tangible that fans can take: emotion.

"I don't think there's a defining moment. There wasn't a defining moment of, 'this is what made me a wrestler' or anything like that. It was always a presence. It was always an energy. I think that whatever people take with them, that is the defining thing that sums up who Melina was. Someone who makes you feel. Whether it's hate or happy or strength, whatever they took with them, that's what Melina is or my wrestling or my career.

Throughout her career, Melina has built a legacy as a performer who left an indelible mark on the industry while also redefining what it means to be a legend, and now she has a unique opportunity to pass the knowledge to the next group of Superstars ready to take their place in the spotlight.