1. Rhea Ripley is the first female Australian champion in WWE history.
27 Facts About Rhea Ripley
1. 2.
Rhea Ripley was the 2023 Women's Royal Rumble winner, becoming the fourth wrestler and the first woman to win a Royal Rumble match as the number one entrant.
3.
Rhea Ripley is of Italian descent through her mother's side.
4.
Rhea Ripley spent several years in the promotion, where she became a two-time RCW Women's Champion.
5.
Rhea Ripley was eliminated during the first round of the tournament by Mercedes Martinez.
6.
Rhea Ripley returned for the second night of the NHPW Global Conflict event, competing in a four-way mixed tag team match paired with Garry Schmidt.
7.
Rhea Ripley defeated Miranda Salinas in the first round but lost to Dakota Kai in the second round.
8.
Rhea Ripley made her NXT television debut on 25 October 2017 episode of NXT, participating in a battle royal to determine one of the contenders for the vacant NXT Women's Championship at TakeOver: WarGames on 18 November, which was won by Nikki Cross.
9.
Rhea Ripley defeated MJ Jenkins, Kacy Catanzaro, and Tegan Nox in her first three matches but lost to Io Shirai in the semi-finals.
10.
Shortly after the 2018 Mae Young Classic, Rhea Ripley became part of the NXT UK brand as part of the premiere of the newly created NXT UK show.
11.
Rhea Ripley defeated Xia Brookside in the first round, Dakota Kai in the semi-finals, and Toni Storm in the finals to become the inaugural champion.
12.
On 12 January 2019 at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool, Rhea Ripley lost the title to Storm, ending her reign at 139 days and marking her first defeat in the brand.
13.
Rhea Ripley wrestled her last match in the brand on 5 October 2019 tapings of NXT UK, defeating Nina Samuels.
14.
On 28 August 2019 episode of NXT, Rhea Ripley made her surprise return to the brand when she interrupted NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler, stating that Baszler may have beaten everyone on NXT, but not her, turning face and beginning a feud between the two in the process.
15.
Later that night, Rhea Ripley joined Triple H and the rest of the NXT roster as they declared war on both Raw and SmackDown, and vowed to win the 2019 Survivor Series brand warfare.
16.
Rhea Ripley appeared on 3 February 2020 episode of Raw, confronting Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair and suggesting that Flair should use her Royal Rumble title opportunity to challenge Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship at WrestleMania 36.
17.
At New Year's Evil on 6 January 2021, Rhea Ripley lost to Gonzalez in a Last Woman Standing match, which was her final match in NXT.
18.
The next night on Raw, Edge introduced Balor as the newest member of The Judgment Day; Balor, Priest, and Rhea Ripley suddenly attacked Edge, kicking him out of the stable.
19.
At the Royal Rumble on 28 January 2023, Rhea Ripley appeared at ringside during the men's Royal Rumble match to assist her stablemates in their attack on Edge, only to be speared by Phoenix.
20.
Later that night, Rhea Ripley won the women's Royal Rumble match as the first entrant by last eliminating Liv Morgan, who entered the match at number 2.
21.
Rhea Ripley spent the longest time in a women's Royal Rumble match at 1:01:08; Morgan was officially recorded as lasting one second less.
22.
Later that night, Rhea Ripley retained her title against Raquel Rodriguez after a distraction from Dominik.
23.
At Day 1 on 1 January 2024, Rhea Ripley defeated Ivy Nile to retain the title.
24.
At SummerSlam on 3 August, Rhea Ripley was unsuccessful in regaining the title from Morgan after interference from Dominik, giving Rhea Ripley her first pinfall loss since May 2022.
25.
Later that night, during Priest's match against McDonagh, he was ambushed by Balor and the rest of The Judgment Day, until Rhea Ripley came out to save him.
26.
At the Raw premiere on Netflix on 6 January 2025, Rhea Ripley defeated Morgan to win the Women's World Championship for the second time despite interference from Dominik and Rodriguez, ending their feud.
27.
Rhea Ripley is a supporter of the Adelaide Football Club.