Current WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Raquel Rodriguez recently opened up about an as-of-yet diagnosed illness that she's been dealing with for a number of years.
Rodriquez, who is one half of the WWE Women's Tag Team Champions, along with Liv Morgan, has demonstrated symptoms of Mast Cell Activation Syndrome but hasn't been formally diagnosed.
She recently spoke about her illness, among a variety of other topics, when she appeared on INSIGHT With Chris Van Vliet.
“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 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. So I’ve always had eczema, even when I was younger, but it was very small in areas right here [points to arms], 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 like 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," Rodriguez stated.
Rodriguez said that she's been dealing with similar reactions for the past year, even opting to forego makeup at times.
"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. But 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, Jet from 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," she said.
Rodriguez said she saw footage of herself from past shows and immediately started crying. These days, however, she's choosing to be empowered by the illness and she's choosing to help empower others who might be dealing with similar issues.
“I think that’s what really crushed me at first too because this was my dream job and 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 coworkers 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.”I told myself this is your life. You were meant to have this issue, this illness, this disease and you were meant to still do what you do. I think the small reactions like this are a blessing because it tells me I can still go on tomorrow, I can still be half of the greatest Women's Tag Team Champions ever. So I just try to keep that positive mindset, it really helps. Being able to take a minute in the morning or at night and just realize what I have accomplished for the day, how blessed I am and just go on in life. I can't stay stuck in a rut. I want everyone to know that you may feel stuck for whatever time it is right now but it's not forever," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez and Liv Morgan are a part of the group Judgement Day, alongside Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, and Carlito.
Rodriguez' full interview with Chris Van Vliet can be seen in its entirety in the above video or by clicking here.
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