Stephanie Vaquer is walking into WrestleMania 42 as WWE Women’s World Champion — but not at full strength. Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on April 14, the Chilean star was honest about the physical state of her body just days before defending her title against Liv Morgan, drawing a careful distinction between injury and accumulated wear while making clear that both are very real concerns heading into Las Vegas.
“Am I hurting? If you talk about injuries, no — I’m good. But after 12 years of my career, my body hurts, so I do need to recover, but I don’t have injuries,” Vaquer said. She was equally direct about what that means for her WrestleMania readiness. “I’m not really at 100% for WrestleMania 42. I still need to recover from many little things in my body, but I don’t have an injury.”
The areas of concern are specific — her ankle and knee in particular are requiring more recovery time than the demanding WWE schedule has allowed. “I’m always training, but not like before because I don’t have time. Sometimes I’m so tired, sometimes I need to recover — like my ankle and knee — I need more time.” Vaquer had already dealt with an ankle issue earlier in the year in January, and while that specific injury is not currently her primary concern, the cumulative toll of her career has left her managing multiple small issues simultaneously heading into the biggest match of her year.
Vaquer Says WWE’s Schedule Has Not Given Her Enough Time to Recover and She Needs to Take Better Care of Her Body
The demanding WWE travel and performance schedule has been central to her inability to fully recover. “The time here is so — we now have to stop, have a day off. It’s good, but at the same time my body feels hurt, and that’s normal since I’m a pro wrestler. But yeah, sometimes I think I do need to take care of my body more.” Vaquer’s willingness to speak honestly about not being at 100% heading into WrestleMania 42 adds a genuinely compelling dimension to her championship defense against a fully motivated Liv Morgan. Morgan has survived concussion protocol, a head hematoma, and Vaquer’s physical backstage attack in the final weeks of the build — and she is heading into Las Vegas with everything to gain. How much Vaquer’s physical limitations factor into the outcome at Allegiant Stadium on April 18 remains one of the more intriguing variables on the Night One card.
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