Australian WWE megastar Rhea Ripley says she doesn’t know how she became a TikTok sensation as she defended being snapped on social media in Carlton AFL guernsey despite hailing from Adelaide.
South Aussie export and Crows fan was pictured with her fiance and fellow wrestling star Buddy Matthews at the MCG on September 8 for the thrilling Carlton versus Sydney AFL semi final.
But Ripley told The Advertiser she remained loyal to the local team, which had been bundled out of the 2023 race in controversial fashion.
“Sometimes you have to do things to make your partner happy. Obviously my Crows boys weren’t playing so I had to wear the guernsey, I had to be part of the family but the Crows are still my team.”
The former Henley Beach High School student, real name Demi Bennett, was in the country to promote the pro-wrestling powerhouses announcement of its first major Australian show in the past five years.
WWE will bring its signature Elimination Chamber Premium Live Event to Perth’s Optus Stadium on February 24, for a show tipped to attract tens of thousands of live fans and a millions-strong global broadcast audience.
Ripley, WWE’s reigning Women’s World Champion, is expected to play a starring role in the show along with fellow Adelaide star Bronson Reed (Jermaine Haley).
She said she hoped the WWE fans in Perth could put on a display similar to the “frightening” noise from the Carlton army at the MCG when they sealed their place in the preliminary final in nailbiting fashion.
“I hope everyone that’s going to be in attendance is going to be rowdy for it because they’ve been waiting a long, long time for WWE and I’m intrigued to see how they’re going to react to me.”
Ripley has surged to the top of the global wrestling industry on the back of blockbuster performances as well as an explosion in social media clout driven by legions of fans on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
But Ripley said she’s not actually sure how she became an accidental social media star.
“I didn’t have a TikTok for the longest time and apparently I was TikTok famous, and I don’t know how that became a thing.
“I guess my fans, my Moshers, were making Rhea Ripley edits and they were getting some views, but it got so out of hand that work actually made me get a TikTok account and now they make me do videos at work (because they know I’m not going to do them by myself).”
Ripley boasts more than six million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined but has also inspired countless fan accounts that pour out torrents of clips of her work inside and outside the ring.
Ripley attributes some of her popularity to her willingness to lay the smackdown on internet trolls.
“I guess I go on Twitter and Instagram and I have a little bit of fun and I get a little bit sassy, and just call people out on the things that they write to me. I guess people get behind that. I stick up for myself in a way while making them seem like they’re an idiot … which people, they love, because they love seeing bullies get what they deserve.”
WWE Elimination Chamber Perth will be held at Perth’s Optus Stadium on February 24. Fans can register for presale tickets here.