When the wonderful owners/editors/publishers/all-around great people of TWM.News asked me to write an article on possible new feuds for Rhea Ripley after the disappointing and rather baffling match with MechaFlair, Charlotte at Hell In A Cell 2021, I rubbed my hands with glee at all the wonderful possibilities that lay ahead.
I jotted down a few ideas and then went to bed only to wake up to find that Rhea v Charlotte 2: Judgement Day had been booked for July’s Money In The Bank. Puts it in perspective when Scotland being eliminated from the UEFA European Championships was the second worst thing to happen on Tuesday. But as a wise man once said, “Scott, that article won’t write itself” so without further ado, here are 5 future feuds for Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley without a WOOOOO or a Figure Eight leglock insight.
Shayna Baszler
Pound for pound, Shayna Baszler may be the best technical wrestler WWE have in their Women’s division at this time of writing and she desperately needs to be pulled from purgatory which is the Women’s Tag Title scene and fast and what better way to do it than put her in Raw Women’s Championship picture and against none other than the women who ended her 415-day reign as NXT Women’s Champion in 2019. We know what these women can do in the ring with each other and we know it’s gold.
Shayna needs to rediscover that Terminator-esque toughness and focus and her battering MMA style is a great counter for Rhea’s strong-arm style of offence. It’s the obvious next step in Rhea’s journey as Champion and would certainly legitimise her as the top dog whilst also giving Shayna the shot in the arm her career needs at the moment as awkwardly dancing in the background of Nia Jax’s TikTok is doing her no favours at the moment.
Bianca Belair
This will definitely happen in 5 months at Survivor Series as going into the brand v brand PPV, it makes so much sense to keep the belts on these two ladies… rephrase that… This SHOULD happen. WWE has been rightfully criticised for their handling of several NXT call-ups and some would argue that they aren’t exactly doing a great job with Rhea at the time of writing.
Still, Credit where credit is due, they’ve recognised the fan clamour behind these two exciting performers and ran with it, crowning both women at Wrestlemania of all places and over stellar performers in Sasha Banks and Asuka respectively so getting to see these two face off (With the added possibility of Raquel Gonzalez from NXT) with their contrasting styles at one of the big 4 PPV’s is a mouth-watering prospect… Oh God, they’re going to fuck it up, aren’t they?
Piper Niven
Back in 2019, Rhea and Piper tore up NXT UK with two incredible and bruising bouts which would have been worthy on the main show PPV and I, for one, have been waiting for this to become a reality. With a year’s delay, due to a heel turn by bats, we may finally be on the road to witnessing a real tear up on Monday Night Raw.
Not many people dwarf Rhea Ripley’s phenomenal physical attributes and because of that, a lot of the peril in losing her title in matches gets completely lost, if it ever showed up at all but Rhea’s championship reign would be in mortal danger at the hands of the Megaton Barbie. The sheer power and force that these two women would hit each other with would be nothing short of frightening. Speaking of NXT UK rematches…
Toni Storm
This one is a bit off and out there, granted, what with Toni in NXT and not anticipated to make a jump to the main roster any time soon but anyone who remembers their feud in 2018-2019 for the inaugural NXT UK Women’s Championship would love to see this. Toni’s quick-paced Lucha-esque style contrasts and compliments Rhea’s hard-hitting British wrestling style very, very well and it is nigh-on impossible to take your eyes off the action when these two lock up in the ring. Whilst we are here, fantasy booking…
Tessa Blanchard
If you don’t want to see Rhea Ripley and Tessa Blanchard kick the shit out of each other, do you even like wrestling?! I know Tessa isn’t in WWE per se but she is a free agent and despite constant rumblings of her rocking up in All Elite Wrestling, her seemingly permanently burnt bridges with IMPACT! May have put paid to that possibility coupled with the fact that AEW isn’t exactly slow in signing talent and debuting them. Ms Blanchard showed in IMPACT!
That she is a much tougher cookie than her diminutive frame may suggest as her run in the MEN’s division of IMPACT! Proved and she would be more of a match for Rhea Ripley in a quest for the top title in Women’s professional wrestling. I know this will be put down as powderpuff booking by some readers but hey, we have all got to dream because right now, we aren’t getting what we want. We are getting exactly what we don’t want.
You can find me on Twitter @notthatone1985.