Rhea Ripley: From WWE Rookie To Royal Rumble Winner (And Dominik's Mami)

The Rhea Ripley that fans know today is not the same woman who burst onto the scene in WWE in 2017. At 20 years old, with blond hair flowing past her shoulders and fairly generic red-and-black athletic gear, Ripley debuted in the inaugural Mae Young Classic, overcoming Miranda Salinas in the first round of the 32-woman tournament before coming up short to Dakota Kai in the second. Ripley only worked one battle royal on "WWE NXT" before her debut year ended — beyond that, she was nowhere to be found on screen while still transitioning to her new life in the United States.

That all changed the following summer, when the Mae Young Classic tournament returned for its second year. This time, Ripley reemerged with a darker goth look, complimented by a more aggressive style. This time, she outlasted MJ Jenkins and Kacy Catanzaro (later known as Katana Chance) to make it to the quarterfinals — her opponent, Tegan Nox went down with a knee injury, possibly changing the outcome of the tournament, as with Nox unable to continue, Ripley was deemed the winner and advanced to the semifinals, where she lost to the eventual tournament winner, Io Shirai (who would go on to WWE main roster success as IYO SKY).

Shortly after the 2018 Mae Young Classic, WWE launched "NXT UK," with Ripley as a key member of the roster. In a tournament in Birmingham, England, to crown the first "NXT UK" Women's Champion, the Australian breakout star traveled overseas and turned more heads as she knocked off Xia Brookside and Dakota Kai before meeting Toni Storm in the finals. While Storm appeared ready-made to become the face of the division, Ripley won the match, etching her name in history as the brand's inaugural champion.

Throughout the rest of the year, Ripley defended the new title against the likes of Isla Dawn and Deonna Purrazzo. However, at the first "NXT UK" TakeOver event in Blackpool in January 2019, Storm defeated Ripley for the championship. Ripley made her WWE main roster debut in the 2019 women's Royal Rumble match, but continued to represent the "UK" brand for several months while trying to pursue the gold.

Later that summer, though, Ripley's priorities shifted. During the last set of "NXT" tapings before the black-and-gold brand went live on the USA Network, Ripley confronted dominant "NXT" Women's Champion Shayna Baszler and received a surprisingly big pop from the Full Sail University crowd. That single moment may have changed the trajectory of Ripley's career.

As "NXT" continued airing live every week, Ripley's presence increased, and she turned babyface ahead of the first-ever women's WarGames match at "NXT" Takeover: WarGames. At the same time, "NXT" invaded "Raw" and "SmackDown" ahead of WWE Survivor Series, setting up a three-way battle of the brands at that event. In the lead-up, Ripley wrestled three matches on "WWE SmackDown," teaming up with Nox to earn a victory over Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville and winning a triple threat match against former "NXT" Women's Champions Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks. Survivor Series weekend in November proved to be yet another pivotal moment for the powerhouse, as she led her WarGames team to victory, pinning Baszler in the process — the following night, Team "NXT" was victorious in a three-team, 15-woman elimination bout at Survivor Series, with Ripley surviving the match alongside Shirai and Candice LeRae.

Weeks later, Ripley finished out 2019 on top of the world. In the main event of the December 18 episode of "NXT," Ripley pinned Baszler to end her dominant reign and win the "NXT" Women's Championship. The fans at Full Sail flooded the ring, hoisting up the new champion in a mosh pit-style celebration that marked the start of a new era. Ripley wasn't just the future — she was the here and now.

Ripley kicked off 2020 with successful title defenses against Toni Storm at WWE Worlds Collide and Bianca Belair at "NXT" TakeOver: Portland, but her biggest challenge was looming. In January, Charlotte Flair won the Women's Royal Rumble and opted to do what no one had done before — challenge for a "NXT" title at WrestleMania. Flair made several appearances on "NXT" after announcing her decision; likewise, Ripley also appeared on "WWE Raw," swiftly defeating Sarah Logan to send a message to "The Queen."

Unfortunately, WrestleMania 36 didn't turn out as imagined due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the world in March. The show went on, nevertheless, in an empty WWE Performance Center, and Flair and Ripley opened the second night of what was supposed to be the biggest show of the year. After a 20-minute battle, Flair emerged victorious, putting a halt to Ripley's momentum. In June, Flair defended the championship against Ripley and Io Shirai in the main event of "NXT" TakeOver: In Your House. Despite Ripley's best efforts to regain the gold, it was Shirai who captured the title.

After having her confidence shattered, Ripley spent the rest of 2020 trying to earn a shot at Shirai. She bested Mercedes Martinez in a steel cage match and beat former friend Raquel Gonzalez before finally receiving a one-on-one title match in November. Ripley came up short in a thrilling contest, but later sided with Shirai to compete in another WarGames match. "The Nightmare" had another breakout performance as a new year dawned, this time in the 2021 Women's Royal Rumble match.

Ripley entered the bout at number 14 and managed to rack up seven eliminations. The Rumble came down to her and former "NXT" rival Bianca Belair, but "The EST" managed to dump Ripley over the top rope. Soon after, Ripley popped back up on "Raw" and set her sights on Asuka's "Raw" Women's Championship. A clash at WrestleMania 37 was quickly booked, and during the second night of action in Tampa Bay, Ripley planted Asuka into the mat for the three-count. While the booking may have been sudden, Ripley was able to right the wrongs of not having her WrestleMania moment at Raymond James Stadium the year before.

Suddenly viewed as the face of the "Raw" women's division, Ripley now had an even bigger target on her back. Flair returned with her sights set on the champ, and Asuka was far from finished with her, as well. The three battled at WrestleMania Backlash, where Ripley retained the title. As WWE officially returned to touring, Ripley walked into WWE Money in the Bank as champion, but she was not able to leave in that capacity, as Flair tapped her out. The next night, Nikki A.S.H. shocked the world and cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase.

With both Ripley and Flair seeking rematches, the three mixed it up in a triple threat at SummerSlam, where Flair regained the gold. In the weeks that followed, Ripley and A.S.H. formed an unlikely pairing and found themselves in contention for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, even dethroning Natalya and Tamina. Their surprising tag team title run just lasted two months, however, as they lost the belts to Queen Zelina and Carmella and broke up the team shortly thereafter.

Ripley set her sights on the top prize again when she entered the 2022 Royal Rumble match and completed in her first Elimination Chamber match for a shot at a WrestleMania championship opportunity. After coming up short in both those bouts, she united with Liv Morgan heading into the biggest show of the year — they competed in a four-way Women's Tag Team Championship match at WrestleMania, but Sasha Banks and Naomi emerged victorious.

A much-needed change took place in May, when Ripley turned heel for the first time since 2019 and aligned with The Judgment Day's Edge and Damian Priest. Edge was soon cut out of the picture, with Finn Balor taking over as leader, but Ripley's role remained the same. She even became number one contender to the "Raw" women's title again, but an injury kept her out of action and caused her to miss her scheduled match against Bianca Belair at Money in the Bank.

Ripley ended up missing about four months of ring time, but after just a month off of television, Ripley reappeared in July and attacked Rey Mysterio backstage. Though still not cleared to compete, she proved to be a key player for The Judgment Day while standing ringside for their matches and assisting them in their efforts to turn Rey's son, Dominik Mysterio, against his father. At WWE Clash at the Castle in September, Dominik turned on Rey and Edge to become the fourth member of Judgment Day. Then, at Extreme Rules the following month, Edge gave up in his "I Quit" match against Balor in order to prevent Ripley from striking his wife, Beth Phoenix, from being struck with a chair. Naturally, when the match was over, Ripley hit Phoenix with the chair anyway.

In October, Ripley finally stepped back through the ropes, making a one-night-only return to "NXT" to beat Roxanne Perez in a Pick Your Poison match. It was around this time that she and Dominik formed an apparent relationship onscreen — Dominik began referring to Ripley as "Mami," and the two crashed the Mysterio family holidays on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. During the latter invasion, Dominik pushed his father before his mother slapped Ripley. Police arrived on the scene and arrested Dominik, giving rise to the hilariously edgy "Prison Dom."

Going into 2023, Ripley began a winning streak, conquering the likes of Asuka, Candice LeRae, and even Akira Tozawa in intergender fashion. She soon declared herself for the Women's Royal Rumble match, and fans immediately viewed her as the favorite to win given her trajectory over the previous six months.

During the men's Rumble, Ripley helped The Judgment Day during a brawl with a returning Edge, but Beth Phoenix returned as well and took revenge on "The Nightmare" herself. Despite the attack, Ripley walked into the women's Rumble as the first entrant and was tasked with battling her former partner, Liv Morgan, to start. After over an hour, the bout came right back down to those two — in the end, Ripley took advantage of Morgan having being misted in face by Asuka, using her legs and core strength to flip Morgan off the apron and onto the floor to secure a WrestleMania title shot. Ripley had made history once again, this time breaking the record for most time spent in the women's Rumble (according to WWE, she outlasted Morgan by a single second).

On the following episode of "Raw," Ripley officially challenged Charlotte Flair for the "SmackDown" Women's Championship at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles. While many fans thought there was a natural opportunity for Ripley to face Belair, it appears the 26-year-old wants to break the status quo and right the wrongs of 2020 by dethroning "The Queen" once and for all.