Rhea Ripleyhas managed to become the most popular women’s wrestler on theWWEroster today. Truthfully, she is more over than most male top stars in the company today. Her sheer presence commands the attention of those in and out of the wrestling world, and her unique looks have made her a massive social media star.
Ripley is a walking, talking, definition of a Superstar. However, regardless of her aura, she would not have found half of the success she has now without her in-ring ability. One of her biggest talking points surrounds the stellar matches she’s capable of putting on any day of the week - and she has had some modern classics already.
10Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch - WWE Women’s World Championship
WrestleMania XL
It would seem like multiple forces were at play trying to hurt this match before the bell even rang. All before WrestleMania’s opening contest, Becky Lynch had contracted a bad case of the flu, and Rhea Ripley was having a panic attack before walking through the curtain. Not to mention, because of these elements clouding their match, it did stifle their chemistry a bit, as did the crowd’s engagement with the match.
However,these are two elite athletes at the top of their game. Even under imperfect circumstances, they still manage to put on a solid performance. Props to both competitors for enduring unfavorable obstacles, and by the match’s end they delivered a good opening bout on the biggest stage possible. Speaking of, the aura of WrestleMania is unmatched in a way where even a decent match reads pretty darn good when the atmosphere is so electric.
9Rhea Ripley vs. Zelina Vega - SmackDown Women’s Championship
Backlash 2023
This is a classic case of wrestlers making the most of their time together. On paper, especially as Rhea Ripley’s first PLE title defense since winning the title at Mania the month before, the outcome is obvious, and the match went more or less how most people expected. However, Zelina Vega playing the underdog in a David vs. Goliath situation under the uproar of an electric Puerto Rican crowdmade people want to believe in the impossible.
The Puerto Rican native winning the title and spoiling Ripley’s momentum in her home country sounded too good to be true, but the two played off each other so well that for a momentary second at least,a title change seemed feasible. No matter how much everyone knew it wasn’t going to happen, the story played out well enough that peoplewantedto see it happen. Even better, the two were able to tell such an impressive speed vs. strength story in only seven minutes, making the most of their time. Sometimes, less is more when the competitors are of this level.
8Rhea Ripley vs. Io Shirai vs. Charlotte Flair - NXT Women’s Championship
NXT In Your House 2020
Rhea Ripley was in a rebuilding stage at this point in her career. Her momentum had taken a hit once she lost her first WrestleMania match and the NXT Women’s Championship to Charlotte Flair. Her climb back to the top saw Charlotte defend the title against Ripley at In Your House, this time with an emerging Io Shirai rising up the ranks in her own right.
While the result of this match didn’t do much favors for Ripley’s stock,it proved that even when she isn’t racking up wins, she still knows how to put on a wrestling clinic with whoever she is in the ring with. While the match itself suffered from a lack of a real crowd during the Pandemic Era, it remains an utterly fun contest that takes full advantage of its “anything goes stipulation”, including a death-defying leap from above by Shirai.
7Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm - Inaugural NXT UK Women’s Championship Tournament Finals
NXT UK, November 28th, 2018
This one is probably the most forgotten, underseen gemin Rhea’s body of work. It’s easy to forget this match-up between Toni Storm and Rhea Ripley taking place seeing as the pairing would duke it out several times more over the years, most notably in a highly anticipated rematch at NXT UK’s first TakeOver event, Blackpool, as well as at the 2020 edition of World’s End for the NXT Women’s Championship. However, the 12th episode of NXT UK would mark their first one-on-one contest, but that wouldn’t be the only reason it’d be a historic one.
It was the finals of the tournament to crown the first-ever NXT UK Women’s Champion. Coming out on top would mark Ripley’s first crowning achievement, her first WWE title win. The road getting there on this night was wholly exciting, as the story of the match saw Ripley target the lower back of Storm after slamming her onto the ring apron, all as Storm struggled to fight from underneath. In under 10 minutes, this match is the definition of short, but sweet.
6Team Ripley (Rhea, Dakota Kai, Tegan Nox, and Candice LeRae) vs. Team Baszler (Shayna, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair, and Kay Lee Ray)
NXT TakeOver: WarGames 2019
Despite multiple participants being in this match,this would prove to be a tremendous showcase of Rhea Ripley’s ability.In fact, this was a great showcase of how to book Rhea Ripley as the ultimate underdog. Because she’s built like an absolute brick house, Ripley is frequently booked to dominate in her matches, but this match shows that even a powerhouse can be disadvantaged enough to be built toward a thunderous babyface comeback.
The story ofthe first women’s WarGames matchwas that Ripley’s team had been broken down before even uniting in the match, as a surprise Dakota Kai heel turn would see her walk out of the match right after incapacitating teammate Tegan Nox. Team Ripley was forced into a four-on-two scenario, and watching Ripley slowly find an opening back into a losing battle is utterly entertaining.
5Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel González - Last Woman Standing
NXT New Year’s Evil 2021
Sometimes, the best way to engross an audience is to introduce a bit of anarchy. Stipulations are great for shaking things up in wrestling, and adding weapons to the mix never hurts (the fans). All of these elements made for a fun contest between two powerhouses when Ripley and González collided at NXT New Year’s Evil.
The feud was a personal one between real-life close friends, but at its core was about decidingwho was the biggest, baddest woman in the wrestling industry. It took one of WWE’s most violent stipulations to decide the answer, and the match did not disappoint. While they would have additional matches on the main roster once González became Rodriguez, this is the match that remains a standout in their catalog.
4Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler - NXT Women’s Championship
NXT, December 18th, 2019
There is a reason why the December 18th, 2019 episode of NXT proved to bea rare night where NXT beat AEW Dynamitein the Wednesday Night Wars beforeNXT moved to Tuesdays. Not to say that stuff like that matters necessarily, but it’s a sign that2019 was truly the year of Ripley, and everyone was itching to see her finally have her breakout moment on this night. After Shayna Baszler’s record-setting 416-day reign as NXT Women’s Champion, audiences were ready to see what was next.
All of these elements gifted audiences with a match between the undeniable, adored babyface and the universally hated Baszler. The match proved to be one of the more technically sound contests under Ripley’s belt, as Baszler wouldn’t be flung around so easily. The two women had great chemistry and their styles complemented each other well, resulting in a bout for the ages.
3Rhea Ripley vs. Liv Morgan - WWE Women’s World Championship
SummerSlam 2024
This is the most recent entry on the list, but it’s hard not to rank it so high so soon after it’s happened. The match had a load of momentum going for it long before the bell rang, asthe love triangle between Dominik Mysterio, Liv Morgan, and Rhea Ripleyhad quickly become one of the hottest angles the WWE had to offer. Some would say it wasthehottest angle of the summer.
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That being said, most audiences saw Mysterio’s turn on Ripley coming a mile away, but that highlights just how impressive Liv and Rhea were on this night. Despite the ending being a foregone conclusion,they managed to captivate the fans' attention. It made for a unique babyface/heel dynamic, as it was the bigger babyface using her power to dominate most of the match while the crafty heel needed to find ways to outsmart her opponent.
2Rhea Ripley vs. Nia Jax - WWE Women’s World Championship
Elimination Chamber: Perth
Nia Jax catches a lot of flak for her wrestling ability but those critics should be silenced after watching this match. It takes two to tango, and Jax’s performance as the ultimate monster heel should be commended.Not only does the bigger Jax offer a fresh dynamic for a powerhouse like Rhea who is used to tossing her opponents around, but it’s a nice touch to see her being so braggadocious to a rabid Australian crowd who would’ve been livid had their native daughter lost in the main event of her home country.
That’s another facet that helped this match, the roar of the crowd. It was a big main event atmosphere to see Ripley standing tall in front of 52,590 Aussies who were on fire to see their local hero on display.
1Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair - WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship
WrestleMania 39
This wasa make-or-break scenario for Rhea Ripleyand, ultimately, for her ceiling as a potential megastar, to the point that some at the time said that her push following her record-breaking Royal Rumble match win meant nothingif she didn’t beat Charlotte Flair. This was bigger than a “to be The Woman, you’ve got to beat The Woman” situation. This was about righting a wrong from three years prior, as many were certain that losing to Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36 stifled Rhea’s career momentum.
Not only did Rhea Ripley correct that wrong and regain all that lost momentum and then some in one night, butthis can be pinpointed as the starting point for the skyrocketing popularity she’s experienced since. This match is praised as not only one of the best of Rhea Ripley’s WWE career but as the best women’s match in WrestleMania history.
