Rhea Ripley was among the stars who worked extra hard during the Survivor Series weekend and she worked consecutive matches on SmackDown, Takeover: WarGames and the PPV on Sunday night.

During the recent episode of Busted Open Radio, WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray reviewed the PPV and commented on Ripley’s performance during the weekend.

Ray first praised the NXT UK star saying that she will be a big star in WWE. However, he then went on to criticize the ending of the women’s tag team elimination match saying that Rhea should have gotten a clean victory:

“I didn’t love the way they went about it, though. I would have liked to see Rhea win clean. Here’s my reasoning – did Rhea Ripley pin Charlotte Flair clean on SmackDown? That is as clean as clean gets and does wonders for Rhea, you could have done the same thing.”

Rhea Ripley led the team of NXT in the women’s tag team elimination match at Survivor Series. Though 2 of her team members in Io Shirai & Candice LeRae were taken out of the equation after they got injured during the bout and were escorted backstage.

Sasha Banks and Ripley ended up being the final two contestants of this match but then LeRae and Shirai came back to the ringside area and Rhea won the bout with the help from these two.

The women’s NXT team emerged victorious from their 5-on-5-on-5 elimination match during last night’s Survivor Series pay-per-view. The team, comprised of captain Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae and Toni Storm defeated Superstars from both RAW and SmackDown to secure another victory for NXT.

Speaking backstage following their win, team captain Ripley stressed how people don’t consider NXT on the same level as Superstars on the ‘main roster.’ She noted how NXT is the main roster compared to WWE’s red and blue brands.

“It feels absolutely amazing. To go out there and do what we just did…people have been underestimating NXT as a whole for so long now. Saying that we are not ‘the main roster.’ Well, we just proved to every single human out there today that we are the main roster.”

She continued, “Yes, we might not get along from time to time. Yes, we’ve been to war with each other multiple times. But I think we can put that aside for today and give RAW and SmackDown exactly what they deserve.”

NXT would end up coming away last night with the most victories. The final score had NXT with 4 victories. SmackDown followed with 2. RAW only secured 1 win.

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

There will be an all-female War Games match at Takeover War Games later this month in Chicago. The two teams will be captained by Rhea Ripley and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler.

During today’s episode of “WWE the Bump” both Ripley and Baszler announced 2 of their 3 teammates scheduled for the match.

Rhea Ripley’s War Games Team:

• Rhea Ripley
• Tegan Nox
• Candice LeRae
• TBD (Ripley mentioned possibly Dakota Kai)

Dakota Kai will get a chance to prove herself to Ripley tonight when she faces Shayna Baszler tonight on NXT.

Shayna Baszler’s War Games Team:

• Shayna Baszler
• Bianca Belair
• Io Shirai
• TBD (will announce after she’s learned who Ripley’s 4th team member is.)

Baszler mentioned that she’ll need friends on the outside as well in response to a question about Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke’s possible involvement in the match.

Talk about NXT’s upcoming War Games card comes in around the 59-minute mark of the below video:

NXT Takeover War Games 2019

The event will take place on November 23rd, 2019 from the Allstate Arena in Chicago. The next night, several members from the NXT roster will also compete at Survivor Series as well.

Shayna Baszler will also compete in a champion vs champion vs champion match the night after War Games. She’ll face Bayley and Becky Lynch on the show.

Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish will likely compete in the men’s War Games match at Takeover but will also be in a champions vs champions vs champions tag-team triple threat at Survivor Series as well. They will face the Viking Raiders and the Revival on the card.

Rhea Ripley will captain a team at Takeover: War Games in Chicago this month. The 23-year-old appeared on Lillian Garcia’s podcast recently and talked about how she got into wrestling, training at the PC, and more.

Ripley mentioned it was some family friends she used to go to concerts with who got her into wrestling.

“Same family friends that were in the mosh pit with me actually, they watched wrestling before me because it was very hard to watch wrestling in Australia,” Ripley said.

“I was doing sports so I didn’t really have time to watch wrestling but they introduced it to me by actually showing me a video of Triple H and Ric Flair and Triple H shoved the screwdriver in Ric Flair’s head and he’s like bleeding everywhere and I’m like ‘this is so cool,'” Ripley said. “It got me so amped and hyped.”

She would then say she knew at around 10 years old that she wanted to be a wrestler. There were plenty of people around here who didn’t feel she could do it, however, but she only took that as motivation.

“Everyone was like ‘oh you like wrestling, it’s silly, it’s fake, you can’t do that’ and I’m like ‘watch me,'” Ripley continued. “Even family members, they were like ‘why would you want to do that? That’s silly you will never make it to WWE’ and I’m like ‘where am I now?’ Please tell me I can’t do something.”

Ripley also talks about how the Performance Center has improved her confidence and more. The full interview can be viewed in the player below:

Former WWE NXT UK Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley has named the Superstar she considers her WWE role model: The Miz.

In an interview with Revolver, Ripley confessed her adoration of The A-Lister, highlighting his snarky attitude as an inspiration.

“I love The Miz! I absolutely love him,” Ripley admitted. “He’s so snarky, and that’s who I want to be. I want to have cool comebacks and get people to listen to me and be invested in me. Even CM Punk — when he spoke, everyone listened.”

This attitude helps fuel her when it comes to facing criticism, especially if it’s about her physique. When it comes to how she deals with this kind of negativity, Ripley named Beth Phoenix as a key inspiration:

“My whole life I’ve had people telling me that I look like a man, I’m not feminine, I’m too masculine, all that stuff,” said Ripley. “Well, you know what? I could not give a shit. Just like I was inspired by [former WWE champion] Beth Phoenix, who also looks very masculine, I want to inspire other potential female athletes to go as hard as they want and feel comfortable in their own skin — that’s why I go out there day after day and do my thing.”

Rhea Ripley recently appeared on NXT, confronting Shayna Baszler, teasing a potential matchup between herself and the NXT Women’s Champion.

Former NXT UK Women’s champion, Rhea Ripley, issued an apology today for using a homophobic slur during a recent live Twitch stream.

Ripley sent the following message on Twitter and said the message was coming from Demi Bennett (her real name).

“I know a lot of you are upset with me after tonight, but I just wanted to publicly say that I am sorry. My brain to mouth filter came down for a second and I forgot that some words are a big no no to a lot of people. I am a firm believer that everyone should be treated equally, whether that be race or sexual orientation. With that said, I just wanted to say how dearly sorry I am to everyone that was offended by my choice of words tonight.”

Ripley was hurling a string of expletives when the slur was used. This was actually a theme of the show. Followers could donate to the stream and Ripley would insult them in response.

A user on Twitter posted a clip of her using the word:

Rhea Ripley in WWE

Ripley won the inaugural NXT UK Women’s Championship at NXT UK tapings last summer. After defending the belt twice she lost it to Toni Storm at Takeover: Blackpool in January. Ripley then dropped a subsequent rematch with Storm at the next set of tapings.

Since losing the title, however, Ripley has gone on something of a short winning streak. She defeated Xia Brookside in February and then defeated Kacy Catanzaro in a match which aired yesterday on WWE NXT UK.

• Rhea Ripley Gets Into A War Of Words With WWE Hall Of Famer

Former NXT UK Women’s champion, Rhea Ripley, currently has a walking boot on her right foot. She posted the following to Twitter recently:

According to a report from Squared Circle Sirens, her injury is not believed to be serious. They are not expecting her to miss much time. Ripley evidently had been dealing with some lingering issues for awhile. She got it checked out and is likely just dealing with a minor sprain.

Rhea Ripley NXT UK

Ripley debuted for WWE in the inaugural Mae Young Classic and has quickly made a name for herself. Real name Demi Bennet, Ripley was plucked from Riot City Wrestling in Melbourne for the 2017 Mae Young Classic. She signed with WWE shortly after and reported to WWE developmental.

By the time the 2018 Mae Young Classic came around, Ripley had established herself as one of the most powerful female prospects in the WWE system.

After making it to the semi-finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic, Ripley began to carve her path in NXT UK. Ripley marched through Xia Brookside, Dakota Kai, and Toni Storm to win the tournament to declare an inaugural NXT UK Women’s championship. She would end up dropping the title to Toni Storm at NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool, however.

• First Look At AEW Championship Belt, Allie Joins AEW

Twitter feuds are nothing new. They can, however, spark between almost anybody, as evidenced in a recent back-and-forth between WWE NXT UK Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley, and WWE Hall Of Famer, Mick Foley.

Their initial spat began after Mick stated that, although Ripley was a “force” to contend with, she was by no means a Kacy Catanzaro “…and you will NEVER be #TheMan.”

Ripley lashed back at him, saying: “Why would I want to be a fake man when I can be a legit bad ass woman! Mick… I think you should sit down before I make you sit down. Make the smart decision..”

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/1090095049331953664

Now Foley, responding to a fan’s question regarding Ripley, has admitted he believes Ripley to be a future WWE champion, but only if she “adjusts her attitude a wee bit.”

In an attempt to smooth out their Twitter dispute, he would follow up with:

https://twitter.com/RealMickFoley/status/1090616881948618753

“@RheaRipley_WWE – let me put to rest the rumor (started by me an hour ago) that you need to adjust your attitude a wee bit. In truth, I hear AMAZING things about your attitude. I see you as a future @WWE #RAW or #SDLive champion and a MAJOR player for years to come.”

The NXT UK Women’s champion would respond, telling him to “get back in your lane old man.” She then wrote that his “days have passed, I am the now and the future. So you can just sit there in your trackies and your flannel shirts and admire my work.”

That’s right, get back in your lane old man… Your days have passed, I am the now and the future. So you can just sit there in your trackies and your flannel shirts and admire my work. ?

— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) January 30, 2019

Was Rhea’s response a good idea? Is Mick right — does she need to pay her “dues”?

During the 2018 Mae Young Classic, Rhea Ripley and Tegan Nox’s match was a hot topic of discussion. In the midst of the bout, Nox suffered a dislocated knee cap, torn MCL, LCL, and a complete tear of her ACL and both meniscus after a dive. Of course, Nox could not continue the match, and Ripley won via forfeit.

Although she didn’t win the tournament, Ripley went on to do rather well for herself. She won a tournament to become WWE’s first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. However, she dropped the title to Toni Storm over the weekend. Storm actually won the 2018 Mae Young Classic tournament last year. With that being said, Ripley, still the NXT UK Women’s Champion at the time, was in attendance for WWE’s launch of their UK Performance Center in London.

She spoke to “Inside The Ropes” at the event and discussed her match with Nox in the MYC. In regards to Nox’s unfortunate injury, Ripley said the moment was “heartbreaking.” Ripley also said it was distressing to see her opponent in so much pain:

“That was a very heartbreaking moment for me and for everyone that was involved, everyone that was there,” Ripley said. “It was just distressing seeing her in so much pain, but at the same time, the show must go on, so, gotta put the mean face on and keep going.”

What do you think about Ripley’s comments on Nox’s injury?

Rhea Ripley is off to the semi-finals of the Mae Young Classic, whether that’s how things were planned or not. In the episode which aired this week, Tegan Nox suffered a knee injury causing her match with Ripley to be stopped prematurely.

Nox detailed the injury on social media not long after the episode aired:

“Well…that happened. I may be out for a while but I cannot thank my friends and family for everything they’ve done the past few weeks and for all the kind words I’ve received, it genuinely warms my heart and gives me that extra (fire) to come back even better.”

https://twitter.com/TeganNoxWWE_/status/1052741053328097280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1052741053328097280&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs46315.p1736.sites.pressdns.com%2Ftegan-nox-details-injury%2F

Rhea Ripley Takes Shot At Tegan Nox

Ripley also responded to Nox’s injury on social media. First, she commented on how in honor of her Mae Young Classic opponent from Wednesday, she would be focussing on leg workouts at the gym.

In honor of my win on the #MYC yesterday against @TeganNoxWWE_ today at the gym I did… LEGS! ?

— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) October 19, 2018

Then the Australian Superstar noted she had changed her profile pic as well:

? #NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/ncNIHWeiSA

— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) October 20, 2018

Rhea Ripley is a 22-year-old Australian who was signed by WWE shortly after she competed in the Mae Young Classic last year. Before signing with WWE, Ripley competed for Riot City Wrestling in Adelaide, South Australia. She is a former Riot City Wrestling Women’s Champion.

The second edition of the Mae Young Classic enters its Sweet 16 tonight. On the line in all 4 matches will be a spot in the tournament’s quarter-finals as we start the 2nd round tonight.

Mae Young Classic 10/3 Preview

Kacy Catanzaro vs Rhea Ripley

2 of WWE’s hottest prospects clash in the MYC second round tonight. Rhea Ripley defeated MJ Jenkins in the 1st round while her opponent tonight defeated Reina Gonzales.

Catanzaro is a veteran of American Ninja Warrior and the gymnast has been receiving rave reviews since joining the WWE PC earlier this year. Ripley joined the PC after last year’s tournament and looks to have bulked up considerably over the last year. Both are considered top prospects, although Ripley’s been in the system for a year longer.

The winner of this match will face the winner of Tegan Nox vs Nicole Matthews in the quarter-finals.

Mercedes Martinez vs Meiko Satomura

Martinez defeated Madison Rayne in the first round while Satomura defeated Killer Kelly.

Martinez is an 18-year pro out of Waterbury, Connecticut, and a former 2x SHIMMER Champion. Satomura competed on WCW Nitro as a teenager and now at 38 years of age, is one of the most experienced in the tournament.

These two veterans of women’s wrestling clash tonight with a spot in the quarter-finals on the line. The winner will face the winner of Lacey Lane vs Taynara Conti in the next round.

Toni Storm vs  Hiroyo Matsumoto

22-year-old Toni Storm steps into the ring with Hiroyo Matsumoto tonight. The woman from Gold Coast, Australia has been winning over a lot of fans in her short career thus far. Storm was a big success in both Progress and Stardom before signing with WWE earlier this year. She defeated Jinny in the 1st round.

Matsumoto is a Stardom vet and was ranked #25 in the 2017 PWI Top-50 female rankings. She defeated Rachel Evers in the 1st round.

The winner of this match will take on the winner of Mia Yim vs Kaitlyn in the quarter-finals.

Lacey Lane vs Taynara Conti

Both of these two women are already signed to WWE and working in the Performance Center at the moment. Lane is a local talent as well, having attended Winter Park High School not far from Full Sail University. She trained with the Dudley Boyz at the Team 3-D Academy. Lane defeated Vanessa Kraven in the 1st round.

As for Conti, the 23-year-old is the first female Brazilian signed to the company. The Judo and Jiu-Jitsu expert defeated the awkward Jessie Elaban in the 1st round.

The winner of this match will face the winner of Martinez vs Satomura in the quarter-finals.

The first episode of the second Mae Young Classic aired last night on the WWE Network. This year the tournament will be released every Wednesday night following NXT.

Mae Young Classic 9/5 Results

Tegan Nox defeated Zatara

Before the match, a video was shown of Nox talking about the heartbreak of missing last year’s tournament with an ACL injury. There were concerns a slight tear in her MCL could have prevented her from making the tournament again this year.

She started off this year’s tournament by pinning Zatara after a shining wizard. Unfortunately, Zatara targetted Nox’s surgically repaired knee for most of the match which could be a factor later in the tournament for Nox.

Rhea Ripley defeated MJ Jenkins

Before the match, a promo video featuring Rhea Ripley showcased how much stronger she has become in the last year. Ripley’s shoulders have filled out considerably. She’s still only 21 years old. The Australian referred to herself as a new and darker Rhea Ripley.

Ripley countered a head-kick into a pump-handle powerbomb for the win.

Lacey Lane defeated Vanessa Kraven

Lacey Lane just signed with WWE and is a hometown favorite hailing from Winter Park, Florida. Kraven is from Montreal and has competed for promotions such as Smash Wrestling in Toronto. She’s scheduled to face Tessa Blanchard on an upcoming episode of Smash Wrestling on the Fight Network and Global Wrestling Network.

Lane pulled off the David vs Goliath upset here when she pinned Kraven with a crucifix-bomb.

Meiko Satomura defeated Killer Kelly

Before the match, a video featuring Meiko Satomura performing on WCW Nitro was shown. She talked about how she was a rookie then and she always dreamed of returning as an accomplished top wrestler.

Satomura finished off Kelly with a Pele kick and a Death Valley Driver.

History was made on Sunday night when WWE crowned the first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. WWE just held two nights of tapings at the Insomnia gaming festival at NEC Birmingham. These matches will air on the WWE Network as part of the upcoming NXT UK series.

As part of the tapings, an 8-woman tournament was held to crown the first champion. The participants included Toni Storm, Rhea Ripley, Jinny, Isla Dawn, Millie McKenzie, Nina Samuels, Dakota Kai and Xia Brookside.

When all was said and done, it was Rhea Ripley standing tall as the first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. Ripley defeated Toni Storm in the finals.

The first ever #NXTUK Women’s Champion @RheaRipley_WWE. Congratulations Champ may all who challenge you be conquered. pic.twitter.com/6C4ywxONs7

— Kevin (@KevinWWE93) August 26, 2018

The 21 year old competitor from Adelaide, Australia signed with WWE last year. She competed in the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament and will be part of the event once again this year.

As WWE’s latest female champion, Rhea Ripley is expected to be part of the all-women’s WWE Evolution pay-per-view in October.

We have full spoiler results from both nights of NXT UK TV tapings:

• Spoilers: NXT UK TV Tapings Results (8/25)
• Spoilers: NXT UK TV Tapings Results (8/26)

On Monday afternoon, WWE released these photos of the new NXT UK Women’s Championship in all its glory:

Here's your up-close look at the #NXTUK Women's Championship! pic.twitter.com/tQMrq3t5y5

— WWE UK (@WWEUK) August 27, 2018

WWE has announced the name of the second confirmed wrestler for the 2018 Mae Young Classic. Yesterday, the company announced that former Divas Champion, Kaitlyn, was the first to officially enter the tournament.

Today, WWE unveiled Australia’s Rhea Ripley will be back in the tournament this year. The 21-year-old got her start wrestling in Melbourne’s Riot City Wrestling from 2013 to 2017. After a solid performance at last year’s tournament, WWE signed Ripley and sent her to the Performance Center in Orlando.

Rhea Ripley

In last year’s tournament, Ripley defeated Miranda Salinas in the first round before losing to Dakota Kai in the next.

Since signing with WWE last year, Ripley has been active on the NXT house show circuit. She has only competed once on NXT television, however, participating in a battle royal on the October 4th, 2017 edition of the show.

“The hard-hitting Ripley, who began wrestling as a teenager and competed in Japan before joining NXT, is considered one of the strongest women in the WWE PC weight room” WWE’s press release states. “In addition to a wide arsenal of power moves, Ripley boasts wicked striking ability, which can be traced back her extensive background in soccer.”

2018 Mae Young Classic

This year’s version of the Mae Young Classic will take place on August 8th and 9th from Full Sail University. As was the case with last year’s tournament, the finals will take place at a later date and likely air live on the WWE Network.

Last year’s winner, Kairi Sane, competes in NXT. The other finalist from last year, Shayna Baszler, is now the NXT Women’s Champion.

Abbey Laith (Kimber Lee), Sage Beckett, and Zeda were signed after last year’s tournament but have since been released.

Candice LeRae, Kavita Devi, and Shayna Baszler all signed shortly after the tournament. Serena Deeb would also sign with WWE but as a trainer assigned to the WWE Performance Center.