The Women World Champion Rhea Ripley recently visited Springfield, Illinois as part of the WWE’s Road to WrestleMania tour. Before her big title defense in Philadelphia, the Aussie Powerhouse took on Nia Jax in a thrilling Triple-Threat match for the WWE Women’s World Championship.
As the audience roared in her support, Ripley humiliated Jax with a tribute move inspired by Rikishi, which quickly went viral online. The video caught the attention of Ripley’s partner Buddy Mathews, who replied with a cheeky response to Ripley’s reference to Rikishi and Mami answered with a good spirit.
Rhea Ripley reacts to Buddy Matthews’ revelation
Once again this week, WWE superstar Rhea Ripley demonstrated that she is a guaranteed entertainer. She was always the crowd’s favorite, but at one very particular point during the recent triple-threat match before WrestleMania 40, she took control of the stage.
During the match, Nia Jax tried to do a move called the “Stinkface” which wasn’t very fun to watch. But Mami quickly turned the tables on the script and pulled it off herself, exactly as wrestling legend Rikishi had done before.
Fans in attendance as well as online seemed overjoyed about this surprise homage. The clip of the scene went viral on social media, and Mami’s real-life partner Buddy Matthews was among many who spotted it. The AEW star made a sly reference to his personal experience with the move in a tweet he shared online.
‘The Eradicator’ noticed the tweet and chose to keep things light, even though she is known for being aggressive. She expertly captured the situational humor with a well-placed emoji rather than a long response.
On WWE TV, Rhea Ripley works alongside Dominik Mysterio but Buddy Mathews is her real-life partner. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is no an easy feat both on and off the mat, but the 27-year-old manages it with finesse.
Rhea Ripley discussed her personal and work-life balance
Nothing like the onscreen relationship between Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio exists in real life. In fact, Rhea is actually engaged to Buddy Matthews, who is a regular show maker in AEW. This off-screen couple illustrates that love can blossom across rival wrestling lines. However, Mathews understands that Rhea and Dominik are all part of the script.
This mix of real-life relationships and scripted drama creates a fascinating storyline that has fans hooked. Recently, while speaking with Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Rhea talked about the difficulties of balancing her on-screen romance with Dominik Mysterio with her real-life commitments.
She said, “To be honest, it’s pretty easy. Look, I love my fiancé, I think he’s great, but when I’m at work I am a completely different human being. When I’m at work, Dom is my partner. He is my partner in crime, he is my Latino Heat, my Dirty Dominik Mysterio, and I will do absolutely anything I can to get him on top of anyone that he’s against. But yeah, for me it’s sort of like a switch and he [Buddy Matthews] understands that as well. That’s why it works”
So, which pair do you like most, on-screen or off-screen? Share your opinion in the comments.
