Rhea Ripley likely to leave WrestleMania 41 as champion due to WWE fan demand, predicts Hall of Famer (Exclusive)

WWE's Road to WrestleMania 41 for Rhea Ripley has been a bumpy one. The fan-favorite superstar was poised to enter The Grandest Stage of Them All as champion, but plans changed. Now, there's another pathway Ripley is set to take to The Show of Shows, according to a legendary wrestling veteran.

A few weeks ago, on the red brand, The Eradicator dropped the Women's World Championship to IYO SKY, which changed Bianca Belair vs. Ripley at WrestleMania to The EST vs. The Genius of The Sky. There was a big swerve on tonight's WWE RAW after The Eradicator interrupted the Belair vs. SKY contract signing segment. She put them through a table and then signed the contract, which was later declared unofficial.

Rhea later presented the contract to Adam Pearce and demanded the RAW General Manager add her to the match, but a backstage brawl began when the champion and challenger appeared.

Fan demand has altered creative plans in the past, including cemented storylines for top superstars at WrestleMania events. According to Sportskeeda's Senior Editor Bill Apter, this will likely happen again this year with WWE adding Ripley to the Belair vs. SKY match. If the change happens, the 2024 International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame honoree believes the Aussie star become a three-time Women's World Champion.

"Bianca Belair vs. IYO SKY is a decent match. However, it's very obvious that there's a huge demand to put Rhea Ripley in that match, and probably put the belt on her again. So, the fans are demanding Rhea be added to the Women's Title match," Bill Apter said.

Ripley, SKY, and Belair have never faced off in a Triple Threat match. They did team up at the 2024 WWE Survivor Series to defeat Team Judgment Day in WarGames. The trio were also part of Team NXT at Survivor Series 2019 for the Triple Threat Elimination win over Team RAW and Team SmackDown.

If you use any quotes from this article, give a H/T credit to Sportskeeda Wrestling.

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