During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley commented on looking up to Triple H, her win over Shayna Baszler, and more. You can check out some highlights below:
On Triple H: “Triple H is someone I’ve looked up to since I was a little girl. He was the reason I started watching wrestling, and I loved our photo together this time. I got one when I won the NXT U.K. Women’s Championship, and I was legit so excited. I had this massive cheesy grin and I hated myself for it. I was like, ‘I can’t believe you made yourself like a goober in your one chance with the Triple H photo.’ So I’m glad that I got a second chance. I’m going to keep working until I prove to everyone that I’m worth it. I’ve got to fill some big shoes, and I’m going to do it.”
On the moment of her title win: “I was ready for that moment. I knew I had her exactly where I wanted her. She’s on my lap, I’m thinking I got this, but then the fear of slipping came into my head when I stood backwards. I tried to ignore that and just go with it, and that’s when I knew it was mine.”
On her finishing move: “My finisher Riptide is hard enough to do in the ring, let alone on two little ropes, and Cesaro helped me figure it out how to do it from there. We were at the PC struggling with it and he came out of nowhere to help.”
On getting hoisted up in the mosh-pit celebration: “I don’t really get picked up too often, so I was absolutely terrified. At one point, they put me up on the corner of the ring, and I looked into the crowd and saw this fan named Kyle, who is always at all of our shows and everyone knows as the ‘Florida Wrestling Fan.’ I don’t know what it is about Kyle, but I feel very comfortable when he’s there, maybe just ‘cause I see his face all the time. I saw him, and he goes, ‘Crowd surf!’ And I thought, ‘That is a bad ass idea.’ So I looked at the fellas around me and was like, ‘Reckon everyone can hold me for a crowd surf?’ It felt like I was back at a concert. I haven’t been in a mosh pit in so long, and that’s the spot I always wanted to be in. Wrestling is my calling, and it was absolutely amazing.”
On how she feels after her title win: “It’s slowly sinking in. I’m feeling all sorts of feelings right now. I’m happy, I’m sore, I’m excited. I’m everything, plus a bit of tiredness. It was live TV and all eyes were on me, so I just needed wrap all my nerves up and turn them into confidence. It was an amazing night. It felt like forever leading up to it, and then it was like, snapping my fingers and it was done.”
