The talented Ms Ripley – the SA sensation set to become a wrestling superstar
ADELAIDE wrestler Demi Bennett has completed her transformation into World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Rhea Ripley, as the oft-maligned genre of women’s wrestling returns to the top of the pop culture entertainment pile.
- The Rhea-l Deal: Adelaide wrestler earns WWE contract
- The main event: Women take centre stage in pro wrestling
- Ring of Power: Inside WWE’s amazing training facility
EVERY seat was full and the noise of the crowd – some of the most ardent, passionate fans in the world – echoed around Full Sail arena in Orlando, Florida.
It was Thursday, July 13, 2017 and World Wrestling Entertainment was about to introduce its next generation of superstar performers.
This was no ordinary night for the $725 million-a-year company that mixes drama and athleticism to create “sports entertainment” – once called “professional wrestling”.
It was the start of the Mae Young Classic, a tournament showcasing female competitors from around the globe and celebrating the oft-maligned women’s wrestling.
And for Demi Bennett – 20 and very, very far away from her Adelaide home – it was her debut as “Rhea Ripley”, WWE’s latest kick-ass female fury.
But before she hit the ring, Bennett had to wrestle with a different opponent – her emotions. “To be completely honest, I was out the back on this flimsy little plastic chair with my head in my hands, almost in tears,” she recalls. “It felt like it was my first match all over again. I was about to cry, I was so nervous – and then my music hit, so I walked out that curtain and did my thing.”
Bennett is the first South Australian to earn a WWE contract. The best way to explain the magnitude of that accomplishment to a non-wrestling fan is with a cricket metaphor.
Imagine, for a moment, you’re playing for an A-grade team; one that’s renowned around the state, perhaps even interstate, for its skills.
You’re something of a standout within that team thanks to the extra hours of practice you put in, at the cost of your personal life and for no reward, because you love the game.
Now imagine you get noticed by a Cricket Australia selector and, less than six months later, you’re pulling on your whites and taking to the crease in the first Ashes Test.
It would be a fairytale story of success and, right now, it’s Bennett’s reality.
Her contract makes no guarantees beyond three years’ pay, the opportunity to train alongside the best and a chance to make herself a household name.
WWE and its owners, the McMahon family, believe success is self-made. The banner hanging above its state-of-the-art, 7925sq m Performance Center, where Bennett and her peers are trained, reads: “You are not here to fill a spot, you are here to take a spot”.
“I try to do my best to not be a fan, but sometimes I do sit down and think to myself ‘Oh my God, I’m actually here’,” Bennett confides.
“Everyone is so helpful and it’s an amazing atmosphere – also a noisy one, because we have seven wrestling rings and everyone’s screaming and crashing all at once.”
Training at the centre and learning from its staff – all former champions and stars – is a Monday-to-Saturday job.
“We work every day and pull crazy hours, with physical training from 10am to 2pm, and then again from 4pm to 6pm,” Bennett says.
“And in the evenings there’s ‘promo class’, where we work on our characters.
“So, whenever I start thinking like a fan I put my work face on and act professionally, just like I was taught back home.”
A standout soccer player in her youth, Bennett discovered wrestling at 15. She devoured WWE’s television shows and attended local events run by Riot City Wrestling, based in Brompton.
At 17, she attended a RCW tryout, won a spot and learned just how arduous the wrestling life can be.
Yes, wrestling is predetermined and a soap-operatic simulation of combat, but it takes skill to drop people on their heads – and be dropped on your own – without serious injury.
For months, all Bennett was allowed to do was train, help set up shows and then pack the ring, barricades and seats away after the veterans had thrilled the crowd.
When she did get in the ring, she quickly won the hearts of RCW’s fans with her combination of speed and power. Her character, inspired by her love of “metalcore” music, a mix of punk and heavy metal, was soon one of the company’s most popular.
She held the RCW women’s championship – think “Best Actor” Oscar – twice, performed for interstate promotions and even in Japan, all before her 21st birthday.
Few in Australia’s tight-knit wrestling fraternity were surprised when WWE called her name, particularly given the company’s recent change of direction. Women have always been a part of wrestling, but not always for the best of reasons. The 1940s were a boom period thanks to pioneering, now-legendary performers like Mae Young – for whom WWE’s tournament is named.
Young was born in 1923, appeared on TV until just before her death in January 2014 and showed female performers could be both glamorous and dangerous.
The subgenre declined in the early 1980s, pushed aside by the fame of towering talents like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant.
In 1986, a breakaway promotion called GLOW – Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling – drew cult acclaim and big ratings through its mix of comedy and action.
Women’s wrestling was reinvigorated until 1992, when GLOW went off the air and WWE became an R-rated, Jerry Springer-like presentation. Its female roster found more acclaim posing for Playboy than they did working hard in the ring.
Meanwhile, in the international independent wrestling scene, women continued to be highly valued and in-demand performers.
Two all-female promotions, Shimmer Women Athletes and Shine Wrestling, achieved great success, as did performers like New Zealand-born, Australian-raised Toni “Storm” Rossali.
Change came to WWE in 2015 thanks to Stephanie McMahon, the company’s chief brand officer and daughter of its founder, Vince. A passionate advocate for women in business and sport, and mother of three daughters, McMahon pushed the spotlight toward her female roster.
Success was near instant, with fans embracing stars like Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks and Melburnian Tenille “Emma” Dashwood.
In a unique case of art imitating art, that prompted Netflix to commission a drama based on the history of GLOW that has become a critical darling. Eager to expand, McMahon devised the Mae Young Classic and opened the doors to Shimmer’s crew, Shine’s alumni, Rossali and RCW’s favourite daughter.
From August 28, Bennett will – as Rhea Ripley – perform against 31 of her peers in a bracket-style tournament watched by 650 million homes in 20 languages.
“This is a crazy, crazy experience ... I’ve seen videos of these girls on YouTube, and on Shimmer and Shine, and now I’m on the same show as them,” she says. “It’s such a crazy feeling that I can’t even describe it ... I’m so lucky to meet them, they’re all so knowledgeable and I just get to pick their brains and learn so much from them.”
Whatever happens in the tournament, Bennett knows exactly what is in her future.
“I’m back to setting up for shows,” she laughs. “After training all week, we trainees go out to the shows and set them up ... the girls do the barricades, the mats and the chairs while the guys do the ring.”
It’s all another stage in Bennett’s development – watching the best up close, hearing their tips and tricks, and working hard to “take her spot”.
In the meantime, she and fiancee Travis Cleves battle homesickness by calling their families on Skype while navigating the unexpected complexities of life in the US.
“The heat is really challenging and everything is just so different here – and no one understands us because of our accents,” she says. “When I go to the shops I want a capsicum, not a ‘pepper’ or a ‘red pepper’ or a ‘green pepper’ ... it’s just so different, I can’t understand it.”
But those are, Bennett agrees, good problems to have.
She is so excited for the Mae Young Classic that “I feel like it did when I first started in wrestling”.
“I’ve done a lot of training but haven’t actually performed in months so I can’t wait to show the world what Australian wrestlers are made of ... you’re gonna notice us.” ●
The Mae Young Classic screens on the WWE Network from August 28, wwenetwork.com