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Xia Li made an explosive main roster debut last week at WWE SmackDown. The Chinese star said that the video packages preceding her arrival took inspiration from her real life.
For weeks, WWE had been teasing the arrival of Xia Li with intriguing vignettes. She got drafted to SmackDown in the 2021 Draft and, since then, fans waited with bated breath as to what WWE had in store for the former NXT star.
Speaking to Daily DDT, Li reflected upon what led to her debut. She spoke about WWE's video packages and compared her debut to a superhero dream. She concluded by saying she wasn't expecting such a great job from WWE's end:
"They asked about my background and about my family, so I told them my story. That vignette is a real story about my real life. I’m really happy they put my real story on TV; there’s a lot of feeling there. When they [aired] it, I cried. If I have that feeling, they will have that same feeling. Also, I had a dream, like a superhero dream, when I was a child, so this is kind of my dream come true...I’m very happy that they have this whole package for me and they did an amazing job. I’m surprised they did this whole package for me. I didn’t know. I found out at the same time as you. When it came up, I’m sitting in the back like, 'Oh my god, so good!' They did an amazing job. I really appreciate that."
Looking back at Xia Li's career in WWE so far
Xia Li started her WWE career with the Mae Young Classic. She joined the WWE Performance Center in January 2017 and became the first Chinese wrestler to feature in Vince McMahon's company. Although she lost in the opening round to Mercedes Martinez, she won the first round of the next tournament by taking out Karen Q.
In 2019, Li appeared in the Royal Rumble. She was eliminated by Charlotte Flair after lasting nearly 5 minutes. Li's NXT television debut saw her losing to Mia Yim, but her first win came soon against Rachel Evers.
The Chinese star's next Royal Rumble appearance saw her last over 10 minutes before Shayna Baszler eliminated her. Li's story came full circle when she defeated Mercedes Martinez at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. After an unsuccessful title challenge against Raquel Gonzalez, she will now try to carve her legacy on the WWE main roster.
