No longer just a rising star of the industry, Rhea Ripley is just one win away from regaining the coveted WWE Raw Women’s Championship at SummerSlam (Sunday 10am AEST).
The 24-year-old from Adelaide realised her dream earlier this year when she fought at WrestleMania for the first time with fans.
She beat Asuka for Raw’s highest female honour on the night and enjoyed a 98-day reign as champion before eventually losing the title to Charlotte Flair at Money in the Bank.
Now she has the chance to put a second title run on her resume – becoming the first Aussie to be a multiple-time champion – this weekend as she takes on Flair and Nikki A.S.H in a Triple Threat match.
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Speaking to Dan Ginnane and Paul Murray on Fox Sports’ SummerSlam podcast, Ripley described her last title run as the greatest moment in her young wrestling career.
“It was insane,” she said. “It was honestly highlight of my career going out there at WrestleMania, knowing I was in the ring with Asuka and I had all the crowd around me after not seeing them for so long.”
Ripley is feeling “fairly confident”, saying she feels she can take out Nicky A.S.H while Triple Threats aren’t Flair’s specialty.
“I’ve beaten her (Flair) in one before. I think I can do it again,” said Ripley, who left South Australia in 2017 to chase her wrestling dreams.
Nikki A.S.H will have plenty of the crowd behind her, but Ripley’s presence and in-ring abilities mean she’ll have some backers in the massive crowd expected in Las Vegas.
“I’ve just got to believe in myself because like Ronda (Rousey) said, fans can be fickle,” Ripley said. “They jump from person to person.
“But I’ve realised over the past few weeks, because we have been doing the live event shows, that every time I go out there I get a very good reaction from the crowd. So that does give me a good indication that I’m doing the right thing.
“They can cheer for Nikki A.S.H as well, I really don’t mind. I don’t mind sharing the crowd because I’m going to go out there and do what I do best anyway.
“Love or hate me I don’t care I’m going out there and I’m trying to win the gold and you can’t stop me.”
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