'There's No Other Girl Like Me': Zoey Stark Intends To Back Up Her Trash Talk In 2023

Things move quickly in NXT, as most of the WWE Universe already knows.

Coming out of this past weekend’s Stand & Deliver event, the landscape of NXT changed dramatically. Not only did Carmelo Hayes step up in a big way by defeating long-time NXT Champion Bronn Breakker in a thrilling matchup, but Roxanne Perez — who was shockingly medically cleared to return to action recently — failed in her bid to successfully defend the NXT Women’s Championship, as Indi Hartwell seized the opportunity to win the title. It’s a testament to the talent of the NXT roster that everything could change so suddenly. 

On Tuesday night, the winds of change kept blowing as the first challenger to Indi Hartwell’s NXT Women’s title made her presence known in dramatic fashion.

Although Zoey Stark ultimately failed in her attempt to capture the title last Tuesday night, we doubt she will give up on her aspirations. After all, it’s not like Zoey hasn’t shown she can defeat Indi Hartwell. So whether Indi likes it or not, Zoey has set her sights on the NXT Women’s Championship, and Zoey’s potential path to the title makes even more sense to us after we sat down with her during WrestleMania weekend and asked her some important questions about her NXT career thus far. 

RELATED: Carmelo Hayes Isn't Looking Past His NXT Championship To WWE: 'It Tastes So Good'

First, we asked her how comfortable she was with her on-screen persona. Zoey isn’t afraid to back up her trash talk outside the ring with a hard-hitting in-ring style. 

“I’m vicious and I’m brutal,” she told USA Insider's Tara Bennett. “There’s no other girl like me – I’m so aggressive inside that ring. You know, some of the other girls are worried about being pretty or breaking a fingernail or whatever else – I’m not worried. I don’t care about that. I’m all about the title right now and that’s what I want.”

The WWE Universe is no stranger to Zoey’s brutal in-ring acumen and USA Insider even shined a light on her devastating finishing move in 2022. Even though she’s locked into her on-screen character, we asked her if that puts her at a natural disadvantage regarding fan support. After all, we would think the journey to becoming one of WWE’s top Superstars would be infinitely more doable with the full support of a loving fanbase. Unsurprisingly, Zoey confesses she’s more than comfortable in her skin – and isn’t afraid of being herself.

“We all want to be liked, right? We all just want to feel that, but I’m not gonna change who I am because a fan doesn’t agree with it,” Zoey said. “I gotta be me. If I’m not me, then the fans are going to see right through that and they’ll definitely turn on me. So I need to be unapologetically me and just say, look, this is who I am, whether you like it or not. I’m not gonna wear the dresses, I’m not gonna go get my nails done, I’m not gonna do all that. I’m a tomboy.”

Zoey’s demeanor can come off as salty and aggressive on social media. However, a quick look through her mentions reveals a vocal minority of fans who aren’t shy about criticizing her. As it turns out, Zoey isn’t aware of these comments, and she’s perfected the art of posting on Twitter quickly and not sticking around to gauge the reaction.

“I go on to social media, post something that gets people talking, promote the show, then get off and don’t read any of the comments,” she said before acknowledging that many people don’t seem to have a filter when they interact with WWE Superstars.

While clarifying that she’s not looking past NXT in any shape or form, Zoey graciously shared with us the names of some main roster Superstars that she admires. 

“I feel like Bianca Belair could really push me. I feel like Rhea Ripley and Charlotte, those girls could really push me to the next level. That’s what I really want for my future. I want to be in the main event of WrestleMania, that’s every [Superstar's] goal.”

The theme of one day competing at Wrestlemania was common among the NXT talent we spoke to over the weekend. It will be interesting one year from now when the WWE Universe sees who succeeded in achieving that ambitious goal!

For now, Zoey Stark’s focus is aimed at the NXT women’s division. While she came up short in her bid to capture the women’s championship on Tuesday, that won’t act as a deterrent. Simply put, in the coming weeks and months, we don’t think Zoey will sit around and wait for another title opportunity – instead, she will grab another opportunity. 

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