For months now, Zaria and Sol Ruca haven’t been on the same page. They’ve said that they’re fine tons of times, but lately it seems that a breakup is very close. Interim NXT General Manager Robert Stone announced that ZaRuca and WrenQCC (Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair) would be in a tag team match on the February 10, 2026, episode of NXT. The woman who got the pinfall would face Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship on February 24. That definitely put more strain on Zaria and Ruca’s partnership.
The match was very entertaining, and Ruca ended up with the pinfall. Afterwards, Jayne and the rest of Fatal Influence confronted Ruca. In the background, Zaria was looking super angry and ready to pounce on Ruca. However, that never happened. There are a couple of reasons why she didn’t attack her friend at that moment.
Zaria Wants Ruca on the Top of Her Game
When Jayne confronted Ruca at the end of the show on Tuesday, not a lot happened. That’s because that wasn’t the focus of the camerawork at that time. The camera was focused on Zaria, who was looking straight at Ruca. Many people were probably screaming to attack her at that moment. But that wouldn’t be a good idea. Handicapping her before the match would just be handing the title back to Jayne.
The reason she’s mad is that Ruca got the title shot before her. Attacking Ruca before the match could mean an extremely easy victory for the current champion. If she were going to lose anyway, then the attack would’ve been pointless. Not attacking immediately showed that Zaria has good timing, as she knows how important the match is to Ruca. Handing Jayne an easy victory would’ve prevented Ruca from putting up a fight for the title.
Her Winning Would Be a Great Time to Strike
Fans probably now think that Ruca will be mysteriously attacked before the match, or that Zaria will do it herself at the time. However, that isn’t smart, and Zaria knows that. Attacking her after a loss wouldn’t be the right move either. That’ll get her the match with Ruca, but not the title match. She wants to attack her at the precise moment. If Ruca pulls off the victory, then that’ll be the perfect time to strike.
She’ll immediately get herself a title shot and a chance to be NXT Women’s Champion. Not only that, she’ll potentially take the title from her former friend. That definitely seems like something Zaria wants to experience. Knocking her down at her lowest would prevent her from being champion herself. Becoming a champion, turning to celebrate with Zaria, and then getting betrayed sets up Ruca’s first defense immediately if she wins.
To get the Most out of the Betrayal, Ruca has to Win
There was a big question coming out of NXT’s episode on Tuesday, which was why didn’t Zaria attack Ruca? Wrestling is all about timing, and attacking her then wouldn’t have put her ultimate plan in motion. She’s extremely jealous of Ruca getting the NXT Women’s Championship title match for herself. Attacking her then would’ve handed the title back to Jayne, as well as attacking her right before the match.
To immediately be the number one contender, she has to make sure Ruca wins. Even if she has to help her and then betray her afterwards, that’s what Zaria has to do. If she didn’t care about the title at all, the betrayal would’ve already happened. But the title opportunity loss is why she’s angry. She has to make sure Ruca wins in order to get a chance to become NXT Women’s Champion.
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