Rhea Ripley’s 5 Best WWE Matches (& The 5 Best She Had Somewhere Else)
After two appearances in the Mae Young Classic, Aussie wrestler Rhea Ripley finally made the full jump to NXT. Her change in look as well as her change in attitude definitely caught people's attention. Ripley was obviously the future of women's wrestling in WWE and has not disappointed.
She has held both the NXT Women's Championship and the NXT UK Women's Championship, so far the only wrestler to do so. But while many international fans might know her best from the WWE, she did have a career outside of the company before joining it.
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10 SOMEWHERE ELSE: NHPW Debut Match
Working under her real name at that time, Ripley had been part of the Australian wrestling scene for just under a year when she debuted with New Horizons Pro Wrestling out of Perth, Australia.
Her first match with the company was as a competitor in the Global Conflict Tournament. Ripley faced off against ring veteran and fan-favorite Mercedes Martinez, which is either extremely lucky or extremely unlucky depending on your point of view. It might have been a very early loss in her career, but she worked a solid match with Martinez.
9 WWE: NXT TakeOver: In Your House
Ripley's most recent addition to this list was at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. The nostalgic callback to the classic WWF pay-per-view format provided an interesting backdrop for some incredible matches.
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The card included a Triple Threat match for Charlotte Flair's NXT Women's Championship against Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley, who lost the belt to Flair at WrestleMania 36. Shirai came out on top, winning her first WWE championship, but Ripley put in a stellar performance.
8 SOMEWHERE ELSE: RCW Championship Match
The first promotion Ripley set up shop in was Riot City Wrestling in Adelaide, Australia. In 2014, the company held an all women's event called RCW City Chicks Unleashed.
It also featured Toni Storm, who would eventually make her way to WWE, taking on Miami. Ripley faced the RCW Women's Champion Savannah Summers in the main event, defeating Summers and becoming the champion.
7 WWE: Beating Shayna Baszler
Former MMA star Shayna Baszler had been carving a path of destruction across NXT, her second reign as the NXT Women's Champion ultimately lasting 416 days. She had defeated the likes of Kairi Sane, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and many more over that time.
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Then, Baszler ran up against "The Nightmare." On the December 18, 2019 episode of NXT, Baszler and Ripley faced off in an incredible match that saw Rhea capture the championship. She was the right person at the right time to end Baszler's reign.
6 SOMEWHERE ELSE: Sendai Girls
Founded by wrestling legends Jinsei Shinzaki and Meiko Satomura, Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling is a promotion based out of Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. Ripley participated in a match for Sendai years ago, as part of a tag team with Meiko Tanaka taking on the team of Alex Lee and Meiko Satomura.
While Ripley was still very new to the business, it was still an impressive match with four talented wrestlers involved. A future match between Satomura and Ripley at Evolution II would be amazing, if the event ever happens.
5 WWE: Inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion
Any time you put Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley in the ring together, you get absolute magic. The two Aussies are both incredibly talented, and hugely popular with fans so their crowds are always raucous.
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Possibly their best match came at the end of the tournament to determine the inaugural NXT UK Women's Championship. While Ripley would with the tournament and the title, Storm would eventually defeat her and claim the belt for herself. This match was a highlight of their long rivalry.
4 SOMEWHERE ELSE: MCW Triple Threat
Still the RCW Women's Champion, Ripley took her belt on a tour of Australia, defending it at the Melbourne City Wrestling event New Horizons in 2014.
The match saw her successfully retain the championship against Savannah Summers and Toni Storm in an outstanding Triple Threat match. It was a great match in that Ripley came out victorious in but also showcased her growing skills against two talented performers.
3 WWE: WrestleMania 36
The finish of this match was a bit of a shocker to fans. No one expected Charlotte Flair to come out on top, taking the NXT Women's Championship away from Ripley. There are a number of potential backstage reasons that reasons for that decision, one of them likely being the impact the pandemic had on various international wrestler's ability to travel.
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Plans for numerous championship across WWE went through changes because of this. Regardless, this was an outstanding match for Ripley, regardless of the loss.
2 SOMEWHERE ELSE: NHPW Final Chapter
At NHPW Final Chapter in 2014, Ripley was involved in a four-way match for the vacant IndyGurlz Australia Title. The match also featured Saraya Knight, Madison Eagles and Evie, who is now known in NXT as Dakota Kai.
Madison Eagles, the two-time Shimmer Champion and PWI's number one female wrestler of 2011 walked away with the championship that evening but it was a hell of a match across the board. It was definitely a proving ground moment for Ripley, one she lived up to.
1 WWE: NXT TakeOver: WarGames
Back in the old days of WCW, WarGames was one of their staple events and prior to that the match was used by NWA. Since then, NXT has adopted the format and put it to great use. The 2019 edition of the event featured Team Ripley versus Team Baszler, each woman heading up a group of four wrestlers.
An early betrayal by Dakota Kai took out Teagan Nox, leaving Baszler with a four on two advantage. Still, Rhea Ripley and Candice LeRae came out on top. It was an amazing match to say the least, and set Ripley up to take Bazler's championship.
