Rhea Ripley has elaborated on the progression of women’s wrestling compared to years past in WWE.
Previously regarded as the “bathroom break” match or for a more light-hearted contest compared to the men’s, women in WWE are given more opportunities than ever before with main events on TV and Premium Live Events, more time to showcase their skills and most recently have been given a new championship to contest for with the introduction of the Women’s United States Championship.
Beginning her rise to superstardom in late 2022, Ripley went on to become one of the biggest stars in the company with a Royal Rumble victory, year plus title reign and a main event match against Nia Jax in her home country of Australia back in February 2024.
Speaking with Jazzy’s World, Ripley spoke more about the obstacles women have had to overcome and how they are given the recognition they deserve in the modern era:
“The women in WWE, we’ve come a very, very long way. We’ve overcome a lot of obstacles that were put in the way, and it’s been growing each and every year. I think that was the biggest obstacle, just getting people to sort of take us seriously. For the longest time, people joked about us being the toilet break, which is just plain disrespectful, especially when the women go out there, and we leave everything that we have out in the ring, and we go just as hard as the men do so don’t treat us with that disrespect. So, we’re making people realize that we can go just as hard as the men, if not harder.”
Ripley also spoke about the difficulty of having a child while in the professional wrestling world, adding praise to Becky Lynch for what she was able to do since giving birth to her daughter:
“A lot of us, we get motherhood taken away for a long time. I’m still young, yes, but I work for WWE; it’s very demanding. I probably can’t have kids for the next 5 to 10 years because I don’t want to have to bring them on the road and put them through that. I’m not good at that, but then you look at someone like Becky Lynch, who did go and have a kid and did come back and is still the badass, the man, she is herself and she’s a great mother while she does that. She brings Roux on the road every now and then and she’s absolutely killing it. But yeah, we get a lot taken away from us or pushed back, and I don’t think people really realize that.”
When Will Rhea Ripley Return?
The former Women’s Champion sadly suffered another injury back in October and was written off TV after being attacked by Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez in NXT. Later confirmed to be a broken orbital bone, it remains unknown when Ripley’s exact return will be. However, Ripley is reportedly also expected to have a huge role at WrestleMania 41 if she is cleared in time.
Featured image: WWE
