34-year-old WWE star to turn heel on Rhea Ripley because of her actions & dethrone Mami? Potential explored
Reigning Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley made a major blunder on the latest edition of Monday Night RAW. The Australian inadvertently cost IYO SKY the Women's Elimination Chamber qualifying bout against Liv Morgan.
Ahead of the match, Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez launched an attack on SKY and Mami backstage. This triggered The Nightmare to come out and punish Big Mami Cool and The Miracle Kid. This prompted the referee to call for the bell and award a DQ victory to The Judgment Day member.
The 34-year-old was left heartbroken. She questioned Ripley about why The Nightmare cost her an important match and took away her opportunity to compete for a world title at WrestleMania 41.
Following the mishap, the former WWE Women's Champion could turn heel and punish Mami, potentially forcing RAW GM Adam Pearce to grant her a direct shot at Ripley’s title at The Show of Shows. This would make a perfect saga in the lead-up to WrestleMania.
Triple H could come up with an idea of a Triple Threat bout in Las Vegas, with Rhea Ripley defending her gold against IYO SKY and the winner of the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match. This is, of course, assuming Women's Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair does not pick The Eradicator as her opponent at The Show of Shows. If The Queen picks Rhea, then we may see a Triple Threat between Flair, Mami, and IYO.
There were constant talks about a possible feud between SKY and Ripley last year, and the Damage CTRL member was one of the favorites to face The Nightmare at WrestleMania. Thanks to her exceptional athleticism and in-ring presence, The Genius of The Sky possesses the ability to dethrone Mami on The Grandest Stage of Them All. The Stamford-based promotion has been planting seeds for their potential match for a long time.
That said, the proposed angle above is purely speculative at this point.
ECW legend says Charlotte Flair will pick Tiffany Stratton over Rhea Ripley
Charlotte Flair returned to in-ring action at Royal Rumble 2025 and subsequently won the 30-woman Battle Royal to punch her ticket to WrestleMania 41. The Queen has yet to confirm which champion she'll challenge in Las Vegas.
Speaking on the Busted Open podcast, ECW legend Tommy Dreamer stated that after watching Charlotte’s segment with Rhea Ripley on the latest edition of RAW, he believes The Queen will pick WWE Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton as her opponent.
"I think they would go with her [Charlotte Flair] and [Tiffany] Stratton because of what I saw with Rhea Ripley tonight with all the other stuff that was happening... My spidey sense is tingling, and I think something's going to happen with Charlotte and Tiffany Stratton," Dreamer said.
It will be interesting to see what plans the Triple H-led creative team has in store for Rhea Ripley in the coming months.
