Rhea Ripley says she's coming for Charlotte Flair.
Ripley has plenty of history with Flair. "The Queen" won the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble and chose Ripley, the NXT Women's Champion at the time, as her opponent for WrestleMania 36. Flair then defeated Ripley to win the title. They have clashed multiple times over the years since then. At WWE Money in the Bank 2021, Flair defeated Ripley to win the Raw Women's Championship. The two stars are set to clash once again at WrestleMania 39; Ripley won the 2023 Women's Royal Rumble and decided to chalenge Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship at WrestleMania.
Speaking on WWE's The Bump, Ripley discussed her confrontation with Flair on the March 10 episode of WWE SmackDown. She elaborated on her mindset that Flair needs the title to be happy as she doesn't know who she is without the championship. Ripley stated that Flair will be a shell of her former self after she beats her at WrestleMania 39.
“At this point, I’m just trying to get in Charlotte’s head and stay under her skin. When you think of Charlotte Flair, you think of the championship gold. Every time she’s gone, she comes back, and she’s in the championship picture, and she somehow ends up with the championship. Yes, she is that bloody good. But I’m gonna use that against her at the same time because I feel like Charlotte doesn’t know who she is without the championship, and once I take it from her at WrestleMania, she is gonna be a shell of her former self, and I can not wait to see that," Flair said.
Ripley continued by noting that she intends to make a statement by taking the title away from Flair. She emphasized her belief that the championship is the one thing that makes Flair feel like she is special, and ending her reign will be a statement in itself. Ripley also teased that she could take the title with her to Raw.
“I think the statement is taking the championship from her at WrestleMania. When she thinks that she is unstoppable, taking the one thing that makes her feel so very special in this company, ripping it from her hands and walking out with it, and then getting to hold it up, [on] SmackDown, Raw, wherever the hell I want to go. But her just knowing that I’m the SmackDown Women’s Champion, that’s all I need," Ripley said.
The former Raw Women's Champion went on to describe how she wants to earn some validation by defeating Flair in a singles match, as their previous one-on-one-encounters have ended with victories for "The Queen."
Ripley then sent a parting shot by saying,“The one thing that I really have to say to Charlotte is watch out because Mami’s coming, and you can’t run from me."
Ripley recently expressed her hope that the Judgment Day will stick around for a long time. Check out her comments here.
Click here to see Ripley's comments about wanting to beat up AJ Styles again.
Ripley discussed her decision to face Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39. Check out her comments here.
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