Rhea Ripley explains what pushed her WWE career to take off

WWE superstar Rhea Ripley is currently in her native Australia, preparing for the next WWE Premium Live Event. She is currently promoting the WWE Elimination Chamber 2024, which will be held in Australia.

Recently, while promoting the WWE event, Mami discussed her WWE career and revealed that she faced difficulties making a name for herself during the early stages of her career. However, she also shared how she overcame these challenges and persevered to become the successful wrestler she is today.

Rhea Ripley on what made her WWE career take off

In 2017, the WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley signed up for the inaugural Mae Young Classic, but unfortunately, she was eliminated in the second round. She then moved on to NXT, but later changed her look and attitude before the 2018 MYC.

Despite her efforts, Ripley lost in the semi-finals, which resulted in her joining NXT UK. She subsequently became the brand’s first-ever women’s champion. Her success continued as she made her way back to NXT and the main roster in February 2021, cementing her place in wrestling history.

Recently, the Mami of Judgment Day gave an interview to “The West Sport” to promote the upcoming Elimination Chamber PLE event in her home country of Australia. During the interview, she discussed how she evolved into the superstar that she is at present and also spoke about the struggles she faced early on in her WWE career.

“I think it’s all about being yourself. When I first came in for the first May Young Classic, I had long blonde hair. I smiled way too much. Way too bubbly. It wasn’t me. The person that you see today is the person that I was back then. But I was trying so hard to be someone else because of the people that I watched growing up. I thought that’s what they wanted. So that’s what I gave them.”

“I didn’t feel comfortable, and after a while, I wasn’t getting put on shows. I wasn’t getting opportunities; I was getting beat down and picked on. They didn’t think I worked hard enough. But I was just trying to give them what I thought they wanted, but at the end of the day, the best thing you could do is just be confident with the person that you are. So once I decided not to care what people thought about me, I was like, ‘I’m going to be myself.’”

“Cut my hair short… And once I did that, I started wearing the long pants with the chains and the studs. I changed my persona, came out, and I was just mean, mugging everyone and beating everyone up. ‘This is my brutality,’ it’s not even a joke. It’s what I did. That’s when my career started rocking and rolling,” said Rhea Ripley.

Rhea Ripley named WWE Women’s Wrestler of the Year

WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley dominated WWE throughout 2023 and has now closed the year with a major accolade from outside of the company. At the beginning of her year, The Eradicator won the Women’s Royal Rumble and subsequently defeated Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39.

As a member of The Judgment Day, she has wreaked havoc on both brands. Ripley was crowned the first-ever WWE Women’s World Champion when WWE SmackDown renamed the title in June. Throughout 2023, the 27-year-old wrestler has scored significant victories over several stars such as Bayley, Zelina Vega, Natalya, Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, and Zoey Stark, among others.

Recently, the Mami of Judgment Day has been awarded the title of “Women’s Wrestler of the Year for 2023” by ESPN. A panel of 17 voters was selected by ESPN to determine their yearly professional wrestling awards. One of the voters, Brandon Caldwell, who is also a writer, reflected on Ripley’s impressive year and declared her one of the most prominent names in the industry.

“When the group set out to claim titles across WWE, Ripley frequently saw the vision through, as the group at one point held both the undisputed tag titles and the NXT North American title to go along with her women’s title. Ripley’s dominance in NXT and NXT UK foretold of her time as ‘The Eradicator’ of the main roster. Now, she’s without question one of the biggest names in wrestling,” wrote Caldwell.

In your opinion, what has been Rhea Ripley’s best match in her wrestling career? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!