Rhea Ripley Set To Defend Title Against Natalya At WWE Night Of Champions

On May 6 at WWE Backlash, Rhea Ripley successfully defended her "SmackDown" Women's Championship against Zelina Vega. This Saturday at Night of Champions, she'll look to retain the gold yet again when she takes on WWE veteran Natalya. On Monday night, Ripley interrupted a returning Apollo Crews to call the former "SmackDown" Women's Champion out, declaring, "At Night of Champions, I'm gonna make an example out of you." The two initially crossed paths two weeks ago on "Raw," when Natalya interrupted Ripley's post-match beatdown of Dana Brooke.

"Mami" didn't stop there, however, promising to end Natalya's career as well. Since defeating Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39 to claim the "SmackDown" Women's Championship, Ripley has only had that one title defense against Vega in Puerto Rico. However, she's lived up to her billing as "The Eradicator" for The Judgment Day over the past several months, elevating fellow member Dominik Mysterio in the process. It remains to be seen what, if anything, will happen with her championship given the fact that she's on Monday nights while the "Raw" Women's Champion Bianca Belair is now on "SmackDown."

But in the meantime, she'll be looking to take care of Natalya, whose last singles victory dates all the way back to last year when she defeated Cora Jade during an episode of "NXT." About one month later, she won a Six-Pack Challenge on "SmackDown" for the right to challenge Ronda Rousey at Money In The Bank, where she also lost. Turning her luck around this weekend will be no easy task.