Rhea Ripley is the biggest badass in the WWE women’s division. She is only 26 years old, but she has already achieved absolute glory in the ring. She has set a record that distinguishes her from the rest and makes her historical in the records of the sports entertainment company: no other female wrestler has ever won all the promoter’s championships; less in just five years.
The Australian gladiator has shone like few others in the modern era of the company. She made her debut at the Mae Young Classic Tournament, in 2017, which brought together the best athletes from around the world. Even Mexico’s Princess Sugehit, currently in the ranks of the World Wrestling Council, participated. Although Ripley was left in the Round of 16, she was offered a contract and accepted.
Thus, she returned for the 2018 competition and reached the Semifinals. Then, she became the image of WWE in the United Kingdom. She was included in NXT UK, the emporium’s developmental territory in Europe. There, she proved why she was nicknamed “The Nightmare.” With her ruthless attitude, she devastated every opponent she faced. It was only a matter of time before her breakthrough was secured.
She was only 21 years old, but it didn’t take long for her to become the brand’s inaugural champion. She beat the biggest names on the roster: Xia Brookside, Dakota Kai and Toni Storm all suffered her ferocity. She was a diamond in the rough who was not to be left behind. In 2019, her handling of the character catapulted her to NXT USA. Triple H, then creative at the helm of the show, adopted her as a protégé.
In less than four months, she boosted her threatening role. She dethroned Shayna Baszler, the show’s two-time hierarch and former UFC fighter, who, like her, had wiped out everything in her path. In 2020, she caught the attention of Charlotte Flair, one of the established names in the ring. Why did someone with more than 10 world title reigns decide to challenge a talent who had none?
The reason was simple: despite her youth, Ripley was so dominant that she had no more ceiling in NXT. Since not all fans follow the developmental territory like they do RAW and SmackDown, the main card every week in WWE, the next step was to introduce her to the casual audience. There was no better way to accomplish this than against a veteran at her signature show, WrestleMania.
The formula worked, her image ended up reinforced after the one-on-one. She lost the scepter, because retaining it was the goal inside the ring. Only that the real intention behind the fight was that the spectators asked for her back. She got it in 2021, as she was added to RAW. As soon as she arrived, she aimed for the ultimate gold. She defeated Asuka, who held the crown for 230 days.
However, Flair came back her way and took another belt from her. Away from the singles belts, she opted to team up with Nikki A.S.H. to win the tag team belts. In 2022, she joined a grouping of villains called Judgment Day. She fit in like a glove, she represented the female strength of the group. Hence, she favored her colleague Dominik in the rivalry against her father Rey Mysterio.
Ultimately, she won the 2023 Royal Rumble. She entered as the initial entrant and stayed for over an hour in the ring. She beat out 29 other female wrestlers to earn a title shot at WrestleMania Hollywood. And sure enough, she orchestrated her rematch. Now she chose Charlotte Flair as her opponent, she longed to measure herself against her in her prime.
She wanted to bring down from the top The Queen, who was used to strip her of her belts. And at the same time, she wanted to win the award she was missing in her record: the SmackDown title. The two not only gave the most lucid contest of the evening, but also starred in a match unprecedented in the 39 years of the event: where all those involved were women.
With Samantha Irvin as announcer and Jessika Carr as referee, they dueled intensely for 23 minutes. Along the way, Flair nearly broke her nose as she landed with her face on the canvas. But finally, after two disappointments in a row, Ripley consummated her revenge. She defeated the most decorated female gladiator of the syndicate and achieved her goal: to capture all the WWE women’s championships.
“She’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen in my life. She’s special, she’s a star, she’s always fascinating to watch. She’s the future of the wrestling business. And to think she’s still got a long time to go. I’m excited to see what she’s going to do to improve the SmackDown division, which needs freshness. I can’t think of anyone better to do that than Rhea Ripley,” said Becky Lynch, one of WWE’s current exponents.