Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka to become the new WWE RAW Women’s Champion on the second night of WrestleMania 37. She had made her main roster debut just a few weeks back. Initially, the fans thought they could have got a triple threat match for the title at WrestleMania.
Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair and Asuka could have gone to war at the Showcase of Immortals to determine who deserves to be the RAW Women’s Champion. Unfortunately, Flair could not make it to the Show of Shows because of health reasons. As a result, Asuka put her title on the line against Rhea Ripley alone.
The Nightmare brought her ‘A’ game to the table at WrestleMania 37 and took the RAW Women’s Championship away from Asuka. Currently, she is holding the belt on WWE’s flagship show – Monday night RAW.
Since she is still new to the main roster, here are some amazing facts you need to know about the new RAW Women’s Champion, Rhea Ripley.
1. Her real name is Demi Bennett
It is a well-known fact that professional wrestlers, especially in WWE, usually use different in-ring names as compared to their real-life names. The same is the case with the reigning RAW Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley.
Rhea won the RAW Women’s Championship under her ring name. However, her real name is Demi Bennett.
2. Rhea Ripley made history at WrestleMania 37
WrestleMania 37 was a historic night for many reasons. First, the fans got to see the return of the live crowd to WWE shows after more than one year. Next, they witnessed some interesting title changes, with one of them being of the RAW Women’s Championship.
Rhea Ripley won the RAW Women’s title, and with that victory, she became the only female Superstar in WWE history to capture the NXT UK Women’s Championship, the NXT Women’s Champion and the RAW Women’s Championship.
3. Rhea Ripley was the first Superstar to defend an NXT title at WrestleMania
NXT is the tertiary show of WWE. The yellow brand has come into the spotlight thanks to some brilliant talents present on that roster. Rhea Ripley was one of them and she held the NXT Women’s title for a significant period.
Ripley made history last year when she defended the NXT Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36. Charlotte Flair was her opponent and it was the first time any NXT title was on the line at the Showcase of Immortals.
4. She lost to Dakota Kai in the 2017 Mae Young Classic
The inaugural Mae Young Classic featured many talented female Superstars from across the world. Rhea Ripley represented Australia in that tournament.
She beat America’s Miranda Salinas in the opening round. However, Dakota Kai defeated her next. No one would have imagined then that Rhea would become so successful in WWE.
5. She is just 24!
Having achieved so much in WWE, one may think that Rhea Ripley would have been in this business for around a decade. However, the truth is she is just 24 and she is just getting started.
Ripley was born on October 11, 1996, in Adelaide, South Australia. She is living in Orlando, Florida, the US now.
Since she is still young, it seems Rhea can even surpass the achievements of the Four Horsewomen in WWE, namely Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Becky Lynch. It will be exciting to see how Ripley performs as the RAW Women’s Champion. Looking at her previous performances, her reign should be a memorable one.
