Rhea Ripley made history during WWE’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Saturday night by becoming the first woman to win the Women’s Rumble from the No. 1 spot while lasting a record 61 minutes in the match. Now Ripley has a choice to make for WrestleMania 39 — either challenge Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship or Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship. All signs point to Ripley challenging Belair given they’re both on Raw and were rivals back in NXT, but Ripley also has a score to settle with Flair. “The Queen” beat Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship back at WrestleMania 36, then ditched the Black & Gold brand without Ripley ever getting her comeuppance.
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Ripley teased her decision during the post-show press conference after Saturday’s pay-per-view. Before she gets to fight for the gold, she’s reportedly teaming up with Finn Balor to face Edge and Beth Phoenix next month at Elimination Chamber.
“I’m going to have a lot of thinking to do before WrestleMania. I’m very, very torn by this decision. I’ve stepped in the ring with Bianca many times and I’ve absolutely loved every second in the ring with her. I think we bring out a side in each other that not many people see and we really take each other to the absolute limit. But then again, it’s the same with Charlotte. She also holds the SmackDown Women’s Championship, so if I choose her I can not only beat her for the first time in a singles match which is something I really, really want to do, but I also become a Grand Slam Champion if I do. So I have a lot of thinking to do. I’ve got Bianca, someone I came up with in NXT and I have a lot to prove because she’s beaten me a lot of the time and I’ve beaten her. And we really want to prove who ‘The EST’ of WWE really is,” Ripley said.
While Ripley and Belair have plenty of history, the two have only wrestled one-on-one on TV twice and both occasions came down in NXT. The latter of the two was at NXT TakeOver: Portland in February 2020, which saw Ripley retain her NXT Women’s Championship against a then-heel Belair.
