Each week, WWE Superstars appear on hours of programming which is aired around the world across various continents.
To keep producing WWE TV content, the company needs to work smoothly with its production team, who decides what airs and at what time in the shows.
Lately though, a new trend has begun emerging on TV, one that has left the roster furious.
An Unhappy Roster
According to Fightful Select, a lot of the Raw Superstars are unhappy with having to wait around for long periods of time before their matches begin.
Between commercials, video packages, recaps of earlier segments, and interviews, the waiting time after an entrance now regularly exceeds ten minutes.
Superstars who have complained to WWE’s higher-ups about the waiting time have been told that the TV show’s format “was what it was” and that these segments “improve the show flow” for fans watching at home.
One anonymous Superstar who was asked what they do during this wait said they “talk to the crowd, dance and get annoyed that I’m waiting that long.”
Liv’s 19-Minute Wait
One example of WWE Superstars having to wait far too long took place ahead of the main event of the May 30, edition of Raw.
On the show, Liv Morgan had her entrance ahead of a match with her former Tag-Team partner Rhea Ripley, but the two didn’t lock up for nearly 20 minutes.
Superstars have reportedly seen this as a particularly egregious waiting time for Morgan, who would go on to defeat Ripley.
The Judgement Day’s Rhea Ripley showed up to fight at last night’s WWE Hell in a Cell Premium Live Event but rocked a unique look for the six-person tag-team match.
In the fourth match of the night, The Judgement Day defeated Finn Balor, AJ Styles, and Liv Morgan with Edge pinning Balor after a spear to get the win.
For the match, Ripley ditched her usual tights in favor of some trunks and wore a purple and black top that matched her The Judgement Day teammates.
On Twitter, the former Women’s Champion explained that her ring attire hadn’t arrived in time for the show and she was forced to improvise.
Ripley also said the fans are welcome for the unique look at last night’s Premium Live Event.
When your gear doesn’t arrive in time… You learn to utilize what you have 😏⚖️ #HIAC#YouAreWelcome
This isn’t the first time Rhea Ripley has had an issue with her ring attire.
In October 2021, the Australian Superstar tweeted that her in-ring gear and the WWE Women’s Tag Team Title she held at the time had gone missing along with the rest of her luggage.
Ripley would go on to borrow a pair of tights, ironically from her future The Judgement Day teammate Damian Priest, and would compete later that day in El Paso, Texas.
On the night, Ripley challenged then-Raw Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair and Sasha Banks in a match “The Queen” won.
The May 20 episode of WWE SmackDown concluded and fans inside Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI were treated to a dark match.
In the main event of the show, SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos took on Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro. This was a “Winner Take All” title unification match.
Ultimately, The Usos won thanks to an assist from Roman Reigns. After the match, The Bloodline attacked RK-Bro. Jey Uso landed a splash on Riddle from the top turnbuckle through an announce table.
Reigns choked out Randy Orton with a guillotine on the outside.
Special Dark Match
Once the cameras stopped rolling, Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair took on the newest member of The Judgment Day, Rhea Ripley. Belair pinned Rhea with the KOD.
Here’s some footage of the match courtesy of Twitter user @BigTimeGoat.
That match may have been a preview of things to come. Belair is set to put her Raw Women’s Championship on the line against Asuka at Hell in a Cell on June 5.
If she makes it past “The Empress of Tomorrow,” many believe Belair could be due for a summer feud with Rhea.
Currently, Rhea is in a feud with her former tag team partner Liv Morgan. Liv has aligned with AJ Styles and Finn Balor in the fight against Edge, Damian Priest, and Rhea Ripley.
The Judgment Day recently tried recruiting Liv, AJ, and Balor to the group.
Rhea Ripley joined The Judgment Day at WrestleMania Backlash, which is led by Edge and also includes member Damian Priest.
On May 8, Edge battled AJ Styles in a WrestleMania 38 rematch. Priest was not allowed ringside so that there could be no outside interference in the match.
A hooded person distracted Styles to help Edge win. It was then revealed that this person was Rhea Ripley, and she joined Edge’s The Judgment Day.
Ripley says that she is very excited to work with Edge and he will help her climb the ladder quickly.
Speaking to 99.5 WKDQ, Ripley said she can’t wait to learn under Edge’s guidance (as transcribed by Fightful):
“Edge is such an amazing talent and he’s been through so many different matches and has done so much stuff in this company and I’m going to learn a lot from him over the next few months, if not years. I’m very excited to be working with him and he can definitely help me climb up the ladder really quickly,” Ripley said.
“He knows a lot about this business and I’m very excited to be working with him because I can’t wait to learn all the lessons he’s going to teach me along the way. It’s going to be one massive learning curve for me and I’m very excited.”
Ripley described Damien Priest as the male equivalent of her. Their gear is the same, they have similar views on life, and so on. Their attire is so similar that Ripley wore his pants when she lost her gear.
“Damian and I, we’ve been mates for a long time. We’ve talked about doing intergender tag matches for the longest time since we are pretty much the same human. Our gear is very similar, the way we look at life is pretty similar, we act the same, we have the same likes and dislikes. Even when I lost my gear, lucky he was on the show because I wore his pants out and I wrestled in his gear,” Ripley said.
Ripley was in a team with Liv Morgan and took part in a fatal 4-way tag match where Naomi and Sasha Banks won the Women’s Tag Team Titles after defeating the teams of Ripley & Morgan, Shayna Baszler & Natalya, and Carmella & Zelina Vega.
Ripley then turned on Morgan, breaking up their team and turning heel.
Rhea Ripley has been revealed as the latest star to join the Judgment Day Group led by Edge and also includes Damian Priest.
At WrestleMania Backlash on Sunday night, Edge was battling AJ Styles in a WrestleMania 38 rematch which stipulated that Priest was banned from ringside to prevent outside interference based on Priest helping Edge win in their first encounter.
The finish saw a hooded person distract Styles and Edge connected with the crossface choke for the win. Ripley was revealed as that person with dark hair and she joined Edge in laughing after the match.
Shortly after WrestleMania, it was reported former WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa and the former Raw Women’s Champion had been pitched to join Edge’s new stable.
As of late, Ripley had been in a team with Liv Morgan where at WrestleMania 38, they took part in a fatal 4-way bout where Naomi & Banks walked away with the Women’s Tag Team Titles after outlasting Ripley & Morgan, Shayna Baszler & Natalya, and Carmella & Zelina Vega.
Three weeks ago on Raw after losing to the newly crowned champions, Ripley turned on Morgan as she felt like she was the weak link in the team.
Liv Morgan promises to help a wrestling fan after WWE confiscated his sign.
The incident took place on the May. 2 episode of Monday Night Raw, which took place in Greensboro, North Carolina. Morgan had a tag team match with Asuka and Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair against Sonya Deville, Becky Lynch, and Rhea Ripley. Positively Wrestling Co-Host Stephen Davidson posted on Twitter that he spent $600 for front-row seats to show his support to Morgan. However, WWE took his sign that said “Liv $old This Seat.”
Davidson shared that the company didn’t say why they had confiscated it. He also added he’ll talk about the incident in detail on May. 6 for the next podcast episode.
Morgan noticed the Davidson tweet and thanked him for the support. She added that she would buy him tickets to the event the next time they were back in his town.
Thank you so much ! I love u and appreciate it. Reach out to me next time we’re in town.. tickets on me ?? https://t.co/Gols2BXhii
Morgan is currently in a feud with her former tag team partner Ripley. After several unsuccessful attempts at winning the Women’s Tag Team Championship, Ripley turned on Morgan on the Apr. 18 episode of Monday Night Raw.
In a backstage promo on the Apr. 25 episode of Monday Night Raw, Ripley said, “…When I first came here, I became the Raw Women’s Champion all on my own. Since then, I’ve been tossed into the tag division surrounded by tag partners that do nothing but bring me down to their level and make me weak.” Shortly after, Morgan attacked Ripley to further the feud.
It’s unclear if Morgan will challenge Ripley at Wrestlemania Backlash on May. 8. They are not on the card, but WWE could always add them to the event.
As expected, Rhea Ripley has turned on Liv Morgan.
Ripley and Morgan challenged Sasha Banks and Naomi for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. Ripley and Morgan had already been unsuccessful in dethroning Sasha and Naomi but Ripley was able to get them a rematch.
On the April 18 episode of Raw, Ripley ate the pinfall and blamed Liv for not making the save. Ripley hit the Riptide on Liv and made her way backstage.
There has been much speculation on what is in store for Rhea Ripley now that she’s turned heel. Some have expressed belief that she will end up joining Edge and Damian Priest. Time will tell if that’s the direction WWE will go in.
Rhea Ripley understands why WWE fans do not respect the Women’s tag team titles. She says most women’s tag team matches are “very very quick” and the champions are not featured prominently on television.
However, she wants to change that. She loves the tag titles, she loves tag team wrestling and she wants to elevate the WWE women’s tag team titles.
Ripley and Liv Morgan will challenge Carmela and Zelina for the gold at WrestleMania in a 3-team match that also includes Sasha Banks and Naomi.
Just a few weeks ahead of that match, Rhea Ripley spoke with the Under The Ring podcast and shared her vision for elevating those belts. It all starts with having a great match at WrestleMania.
Rhea Ripley’s Plan
“The Women’s Tag Team Championships, they sort of get looked down upon by a lot of people, I see it on social media all the time,” said Ripley. “I get it, we don’t really get good positions on the show and a lot of matches are very very quick, so it’s important to put it on WrestleMania and remind everyone exactly what we can do and how much these titles do truly mean.”
She added, “I love the tag titles, I love tag wrestling, I love everything about it. We just have to remind everyone how much they love it as well. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Ripley is a former WWE Women’s tag team champion. She and Nikki A.S.H. held the titles for 63 days before losing them to the current champions, Carmel and Zelina.
Listen to Rhea Ripley on the Under The Ring podcast:
Charlotte Flair already has her eyes on Bianca Belair and Rhea RIpley as opponents following her match at WrestleMania 38.
The current SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair will face Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 38 on the Saturday show. The former RAW Women’s Champion, Rousey, won the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble in her return to the ring, and then went on to challenge ‘The Queen’. It seems like Charlotte may be looking pass this possible WrestleMania main event and towards two other former Women’s champions.
Charlotte Flair Names Who’s Next For Her
Charlotte appeared on HOT 97, and said, “I guess it’s the question is, who’s there to beat me? Rhea and Bianca, are my targets next. I expect big things not that Bianca hasn’t already done big things, and I still look at my Money in the Bank match with Rhea Ripley, it was a great match. I want to see, you know, what’s next for the both of them and I’ve never had a completely full program with either one of them.”
Charlotte continued, “I think Rhea has kind of been start-stop. WrestleMania we had the NXT. But that wasn’t really followed up. You know, we had that WrestleMania match in the Performance Center during COVID and then I lost the title at TakeOver.”
“So there was really no story or build-up or what happened after and then when we got when she came to Raw, it was the Money in the Bank match, but then it turned into a Triple Threat and I got cashed in on. So I still think there’s a story left there, and she’s got to climb this mountain, both of them.”
WrestleMania 38
The SmackDown Women’s Championship will be defended against Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 38 Night 1 on Saturday, April 2.
Bianca Belair also has a championship match set for WrestleMania 38 Night 1 on Saturday, April 2. She will face Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship after winning the Women’s Eliminiation Chamber Match on February 19.
Rhea Ripley currently does not have any plans for WrestleMania as of right now. However, that could obviously change as there are still 28 days until the event and the card is still developing.
Former WWE Executive Canyon Ceman has shared his farewell post to the company. Ceman worked with the WWE from 2012 to 2021.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that the WWE released Ceman on July 23, 2021. The company has released talent over the year due to budget cuts. However, it’s unclear if the former executive release is related to WWE’s budget issues. The timing of Ceman’s departure also happened around the time of WWE’s contract issue with Adam Cole.Wrestling Inc’s Marc Middleton shared that timing of Cole’s contract dispute “Very much lines up with the timing of Ceman’s departure.” Although, the WWE hasn’t confirmed Middleton’s statement.
Regardless, Ceman seems grateful for his time in WWE and shared his appreciation in the farewell post on Linkedin.
“In the spirit of 2022, and a new chapter about to begin, I want to say thank you and a final LinkedIn goodbye to my past chapter at WWE am grateful to WWE for an adventurous 9.5 year run as a leader in talent development,” wrote Ceman.
Canyon Ceman Reflects on Accomplishments
In his post, Ceman detailed his proud accomplishments during his WWE tenure. He shared that he helped scout talent in China, Japan, and Mexico. Ceman also mentioned he played a role in the “Women Empowerment Movement” in the WWE. The former executive brought up talents Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and Rhea Ripley as people he helped.
“I am most proud of the efforts we made towards professionalization and globalization of athlete acquisition and development, India, Dubai, Japan, China, Saudi, Mexico, Australia, Chile, Germany,” said Ceman. He continued, “…Our role in the Women’s empowerment movement in WWE, from Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch to Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair, so proud of Sara Amato and all we accomplished. The culture of respect and empowerment we built at the WWE PC, as we launched and grew NXT and NXT UK, and of the superstars launched and stories created through all of these projects.”
Ceman also thanked his former co-workers like Triple H, Matt Bloom, and William Regal. He ended the farewell post by saying that an announcement was coming soon. It’s unclear if Ceman still wants to work in the professional wrestling business.
Rhea Ripley is ready to steamroll all challengers at next weekend’s WWE Royal Rumble.
Ripley’s back is full of welts following this week’s WWE Raw. The Australian Superstar took a beating at the hands of her former friend and partner, Nikki ASH.
Ripley posted a photo of her battle scars early Monday morning. She defiantly wrote, “It’s hard to break someone that enjoys pain. Try again.”
Rhea Ripley was on Team RAW at the Survivor Series this year. At the time, she was one-half of the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions along with Nikki ASH. They have since lost the belts to Carmella and Queen Zelina, however. Nikki was not on the Team RAW Survivor Series team. Rhea Ripley recently commented to Sportskeeda that she felt the snub was a little disrespectful.
“I think I am more disappointed than Nikki is because she’s such a positive person,” Ripley said about Nikki not being on the Survivor Series team. “Yes, I know she’s upset. But I am very upset for her because I know that she’s worked so incredibly hard for everything that she’s accomplished. She’s been in this business for a lot longer than I have.”
“To not have her on the team is a little bit disrespectful,” Ripley continued. “To have one half of your Tag Team Champions on the team and not the other half, it seems a little bit silly to me. We obviously work well enough together to be champions, so why not half Nikki on the team with us? I think we could really make some magic. I’m just disappointed, I really am.”
Ripley and Nikki won the WWE Women’s tag-team titles on the September 20th, 2021 edition of WWE Raw from Natalya and Tamina. It was the 3rd time Nikki has held the titles, as she twice won the belts along with Alexa Bliss as “Bliss Cross.” Ripley and Nikki would hold the belts for 63 days before dropping them to Queen Zelina and Carmella on the November 22nd edition of RAW. Nikki is the only wrestler to hold the titles 3 times.
Tegan Nox was let from WWE this month after spending 4 years with the company. Rhea Ripley recently spoke with Talk Sport and mentioned about how Nox helped save her WWE career. According to Ripley, her name was on the list of people who could get fired when her and Nox put on a stellar match at the Performance Center.
“There was a time at the Performance Center where my name was on the list to get fired and I’d only been there for a year,” Ripley said.
“I don’t know why my name was on the list, I guess people just didn’t like me at the time. It is what it is – I changed their mind! But I was on the chopping block and I had a PC live match in front of all our peers and it was against Tegan.”
“One of the guys found out I was on that list and he told her – he didn’t tell me because he knew I’d freak out – but he told her and was like ‘look, you’ve got to make Rhea look good because this might be her last match here otherwise.’ And that’s exactly what she did,” Ripley continued.
FACT. There would be no Rhea Ripley if it wasn’t for @TeganNoxWWE_. She literally saved my job more than once. Thank you friend, go kill it! pic.twitter.com/qiKjENrnPn
Ripley also mentioned that Tegan also helped propel her career by chance when she was injured during the Mae Young Classic. As a result of Tegan’s injury, Ripley moved on in the tournament and had a great match with Io Shirai.
Tegan Nox signed with WWE in 2017. She missed the Mae Young Classic that year because she tore her ACL. In the 2018 Mae Young Classic, she suffered a a torn ACL, MCL, lateral collateral ligament, meniscus, and patellar dislocation during her match with Rhea Ripley in the quarter-finals.
Rhea Ripley has not only lost her wrestling gear but one of the belts for the women’s tag team championship in a bag that was left behind in New Mexico
The female star took on her Twitter to post about it after the house show in hopes of finding the missing bag. She later made another tweet featuring a photo of her, wearing the ring gear in question:
“My MosherZ of Albuquerque I know this is a stretch but, if any of you have seen a black travel suitcase around Office Boulevard & Montaño rd please hold onto it and let me know.” wrote Ripley, “It has all my gear in it, including my title. Cheers!”
*LOST GEAR BAG* My MosherZ of Albuquerque I know this is a stretch but, if any of you have seen a black travel suitcase around Office Boulevard & Montaño rd please hold onto it and let me know. It has all my gear in it, including my title. Cheers!
WWE held a live event from Rio Rancho, New Mexico on Saturday. The former NXT star competed in a fatal four-way match also featuring Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bianca Belair on the show.
Rhea Ripley made her official main roster debut in March this year. She won the women’s tag team championship with Nikki A.S.H. during the September 20 episode of Monday Night Raw last month.
Since the current champion did not provide any further details, it’s hard to say if her bag was stolen or left behind. We’ll keep you posted on the story.
Rhea Ripley misses being part of the NXT brand and wants to go back. Though she is not sure how she would fit in after the rebranding of the show.
The former NXT women’s champion recently had an interview with Battleground podcast. She discussed things such as teaming with Nikki A.S.H. and more.
When asked if she would like to go back to the development brand, Ripley admitted that she would love to do it. She explained that the new NXT is not bad but it’s more focused on the newer stars:
“I would love to. Honestly, I miss NXT. Right now, how it’s all changed, I don’t know if I would really fit in. When it was the metal scene and very grungy, I loved NXT.
I’m not saying the one now is bad or anything, but it’s definitely more for the up-and-comers, and everyone is trying to make a name for themselves.”
Although despite the change, Rhea Ripley later claimed that she would definitely go back in a heartbeat, especially to help Raquel Gonzalez. She explained that she doesn’t like the way Gonzalez gets jumped.
The former NXT star won the tag team titles with Nikki A.S.H. during the September 20 episode of Raw. Though with all the female tag teams being broken up in the WWE Draft, it would be interesting to see who steps up to challenge them next.
Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley became the new WWE women’s tag team champions after defeating Natalya and Tamina Snuka on tonight’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
The title match on tonight’s episode of the red branded show saw Nikki and Tamina starting the bout for their teams. Though Tamina attacked Ripley early in the fight when she came in the ring to break a pin.
The champions worked on Nikki A.S.H. for the majority of the bout while tagging in and out themselves. Tamina delivered a Samoan drop to Nikki at one point.
Snuka then went to the top rope for the superfly splash but Nikki managed to get her knees up in time. Though she couldn’t tag in Ripley who was still down at the ringside. Natalya managed to tag in and unloaded on Nikki.
The ending of the bout saw Ripley finally coming to her sense and attacking Tamina at the ringside. Natalya tried to lock Nikki in the sharpshooter but she got distracted by Rhea delivering a riptide to her partner into the edge of the ring apron.
The distraction allowed Nikki A.S.H. to roll Natalya for the pin and win the match for her team, marking the start of the title reign for Ripley and herself.
Natalya and Tamina had won the tag team titles from Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler during the May 14 episode of SmackDown. Their reign lasted for 129 days.
The latest match in the feud between Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair took place at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event.
The fans were chanting for Becky Lynch early on. Flair went to the top rope after sending her to the floor and hit a moonsault. These ladies worked hard to get the fans to turn to their favor. Flair with a back elbow then tried to use her feet on the ropes, but the referee saw it. Flair hit Natural Selection off the top rope for a near fall. Flair locked in Figure Eight for the win to become the champion.
Their first match took place at Hell in a Cell where Ripley intentionally got herself disqualified against Flair to retain the title. It happened when Ripley hit Charlotte with the top of the announce table. After the match, they brawled after the match and Ripley hit Riptide on Charlotte.
The night after Hell in a Cell on Raw, WWE authority figures Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville addressed the situation with both stars. This is when the match was made official.
In April, Ripley won the Raw Women’s Championship from Asuka at WrestleMania 37. Original plans called for Flair to be in this role against Asuka, but Flair was out of action at the time.
In May, Ripley retained the Raw Women’s Championship against Asuka and Charlotte in a triple threat match at WrestleMania Backlash when Ripley pinned Asuka to win that match.
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley recently spoke to The South African. The former NXT Women’s Champion discussed a number of topics during the interview, including potential matchups that she would like going forward on the RAW brand.
“Yeah, I mean, I have a lot of matches that I want to do,” Rhea Ripley would begin the interview. “Like I never got to wrestle Candice [LaRae], which is someone that I wanted to wrestle real badly.”
“So I’m hoping that one day I get to wrestle Candice, I can’t wait for more of my NXT girls to come up so I can have more fights with them” Ripley then continued. “Because it’s always lovely stepping in the ring with them. And we bring out that certain side of each other, we just know each other so well. So it really is a fight to win.”
Rhea Ripley Talks Alexa Bliss Match
Rhea Ripley would then reveal who on the RAW roster right now she would like to face, and the first name was Alexa Bliss and her ‘Fiend’ character.
“Out of the people that have here at the moment like I actually, even though she’s creepy, and you never really know what you’re gonna get from her, I wouldn’t mind stepping in the ring with Alexa Bliss” Rhea Ripley revealed.
“I know. I might regret what I’m saying right now. But she’s just so different. And I like different. And I like a challenge. And she definitely is a challenge. So Alexa Bliss will be someone that I’m curious of, and I just I wouldn’t mind stepping in the right with” the RAW Women’s Champion concluded.
Rhea Ripley will be defending her RAW Women’s Championship on tonight’s Money In The Bank PPV event which airs on Peacock and WWE Network.
Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair took place with the Raw Women’s Title on the line in Ripley’s latest title defense.
The match happend at the WWE Hell In A Cell pay-per-view event in Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center on Peacock. The match saw Flair dominate and use some old school tactics such as hitting natural selection for 2 while using the rope as leverage. The match ended short when Ripley got herself DQ’d when she hit Flair with a piece of the announce table.
Ripley attacked Flair after the match and Flair told her that she was learning. Thus, a rematch at Money in the Bank is coming.
WWE confirmed this bout after Flair had beaten Asuka on the May 24th edition of Raw. This came after Ripley retained her Raw Women’s Championship by defeating Asuka and Charlotte in a triple threat match when Ripley pinned Asuka to win.
Flair had been pitching for a one-on-one title match with Ripley to WWE authority figures Adam Pearce and Sonya Deville. This is where Deville told Flair that if she beat Asuka then she would get the title match and that’s what happened.
WWE then did some Beat the Clock challenges to further hype this match. They both wrestled Nikki Cross in these matches.
Rhea Ripley had the deck stacked against her heading into the WWE WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event.
She defended the WWE Raw Women’s Championship against Asuka and Charlotte Flair in a triple threat match at this show. The bout kicked off the main card. Flair had the early advantage and stayed put in the middle of the ring while taking on the other stars. Everyone had their moments to shine. At one point, Flair hit a moonsault off the middle rope to the floor. Ripley went over with her finisher to Asuka.
It had originally been announced as a singles match between Ripley and Asuka before Flair was added. WWE did a storyline where authority figure Sonya Deville added Flair into the match after she reinstated Charlotte from her “indefinite suspension” due to the attack on fellow authority figure Adam Pearce.
Ripley won the Raw Women’s Championship by defeating Asuka at WrestleMania 37 last month. This was originally planned to be Flair challenging Asuka for the strap, but was pulled due to a positive COVID-19 test.
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley recently appeared on the Out of Character podcast with Ryan Satin. The Australian Superstar discussed a number of topics during the interview, including her struggle to ‘come out of her shell’ on WWE’s ‘main’ roster.
In NXT, Rhea Ripley had a character that was far more about doing the talking in-ring. As the RAW Women’s Champion, Ripley needs to address some of the shortcomings that she has on the microphone and as a ‘presence.’
“My confidence isn’t huge in my everyday life,” Ripley began. “I’m a really shy person and I’m not good at keeping a conversation and being a larger-than-life person.”
Rhea Ripley on Confidence
“When I’m in the ring, that’s where I get all my confidence and where I get to be Rhea Ripley,” she continued. “But still myself, which is weird to say out loud because it doesn’t make sense but then it does when you’re there doing it.”
“I want to be myself, as in Rhea Ripley” she concluded. “But I want to have that confidence that everyone else seems to have all the time. I’m working on it.”
Rhea Ripley seems to indicate here that she is taking classes to help her work on her promo ability. Working alongside the likes of Charlotte Flair, she’ll be ‘competing’ against one of WWE’s most seasoned performers.
On Monday’s Raw, Charlotte Flair was added to the RAW Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania Backlash. That contest will now be a Triple Threat with Rhea Ripley defending her title against Asuka and The ‘Queen.’
WWE has confirmed the latest title match that will take place at the WrestleMania Backlash PPV event and that’s Rhea Ripley vs. Asuka vs. Charlotte Flair.
Ripley will put the Raw Women’s Title on the line against the former champion. Then on Raw, WWE confirmed that Flair had been added to the match and now it’s a triple threat.
Ripley beat Asuka for the strap at the WWE WrestleMania 37 pay-per-view event last month from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
There had been speculation that WWE would have Charlotte Flair wrestle either Asuka or Ripley at this show since she had been cutting promos about the two stars since returning to television a few weeks ago.
WWE presents the WrestleMania Backlash pay-per-view event on Sunday, May 16, 2021, from Tampa, Florida at Yuengling Center that will air on Peacock. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks.
WWE Champion Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman in a triple threat match and WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bianca Belair vs. Bayley have already been confirmed for this show.
Charlotte Flair recently returned to WWE television following WrestleMania 37. The former RAW Women’s Champion returned to face Asuka on this week’s episode of RAW, with Rhea Ripley interrupting the match and causing Flair to be distracted and lose to Asuka.
Following the match, Charlotte Flair attacked WWE referee Eddie Orengo. This caused Flair to be ‘fined’ (in storyline) by Adam Pearce to the sum of $100,000.
Even though Flair has only just returned, she is now back off of WWE programming. The reasoning for this is Flair getting dental work done, this is according to a report from Alex McCarthy on the Wrestling Daily podcast.
Charlotte Flair on Suspension
Flair reacted to the storyline news on Twitter, alluding to a potential feud with Rhea Ripley down the line on Monday nights.
“This whole thing sped past ridiculous, jumped over absurd and landed right on stupid” Flair tweeted. “The top two wrestlers in WWE having a classic match on the flagship show, and for what? To be ruined by a petulant child with Road Warriors cosplay shoulder pads.”
“They found one other thing as well: audacity” Flair added. “The audacity to fine me. The audacity to physically remove me from MY RING and remove me from a building with MY NAME on the marquee. The fine? The suspension? Adam Pearce? All the same, a joke.”
Checking In From Somewhere
Meanwhile, the 13-time Women’s Champion appears to be enjoying her time away from WWE. The daughter of Ric Flair checked in this week from an exotic location. Here she is with her man, former WWE Superstar Andrade.
WWE RAW Superstar Rhea Ripley won the red brand’s top Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 37 by defeating Asuka. Both Ripley and Asuka are two women who are aguably synonymous with NXT, with both having sat atop the roster in Full Sail University.
NXT’s run as one of the hottest brands in the world was put to the test when AEW started running on Wednesday nights. With both shows going head-to-head, fans dubbed the new competition as the ‘Wednesday Night Wars.’
The Gold brand of WWE moved to Tuesday this past week and gained viewers in the 800,000 range, with the show no longer having direct pro wrestling competition. AEW in comparison did 1.2 million in the ratings, signalling that the move of NXT and the end of the Wednesday Night Wars was best for both shows.
Rhea Ripley on Wednesday Night War
Speaking to talkSPORT, Rhea Ripley would discuss what it was like being ‘in the trenches’ during the Wednesday night shows.
“I think the internet definitely blew it up a lot more than we thought,” Ripley said. “We didn’t really think about it, at least I didn’t really think about it too much when we were on NXT. I just went there, did my job. I totally forgot there was a ‘war’ going on.”
“I just wanted to do the best that I could do and I think everyone was in the same boat as that” Ripley continued. “I think everyone in NXT just loves what they do so much and we just wanted to do the best that we could. And if that meant we were in a ‘war’ with someone, I guess we’re going to fight. But I think the internet blew that up a lot more than it was.”
WWE Superstar Rhea Ripley recently spoke to TV Insider. The Australian Superstar discussed a number of topics during the interview, including what happened backstage at WrestleMania 37.
“It was crazy walking through the curtain and seeing the crowd and how excited they were,” Ripley began, discussing what it was like to walk out at the start of ‘Mania Night 1. “All my dreams were coming true. It was something I worked toward for a long time. I was trying to hold it all together, telling myself, ‘Don’t cry.’”
She continued, “Then I looked over to Edge near me, and he had tears in his eyes” Rhea Ripley continued. “He nodded at me and winked. I just lost it. I could not hold it together.”
Ripley was also one of the notable talents shown on-screen during the opening segment of the show. She was clearly emotional to be back in front of a live crowd in a stadium.
“Then I saw this fan in the front saying, ‘Hey Rhea! You got this. You’re going to kill it’ — giving me this pep talk. Next thing I know, I’m being shown on the big screen.”
Rhea Ripley went on to dethrone Asuka to win the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania. Head over to TV Insider to check out the complete interview.
