SA-born professional wrestler Rhea Ripley wins the WWE NXT Women’s Championship from MMA standout Shayna Baszler
She’s from Adelaide, she’s just 23 years old and, as of now, she is the queen of the professional wrestling world. Rhea Ripley has made history again by taking the NXT Women’s Championship.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Adelaide wrestler Rhea Ripley signs with WWE
- How to get the most out of your Advertiser digital subscription
Adelaide wrestler Rhea Ripley has continued her history-making ways by adding another accolade – one of the most prized in her industry – to her astounding career.
On Thursday, in front of a live audience in Florida and estimated two million TV viewers globally, Ripley won the NXT Women’s Championship in a match against MMA standout Shayna Baszler.
The victory over Baszler, 39, who has held the title since April 2017, caused the fans in attendance to become unglued and they rushed the ring in celebration.
The broadcast went off the air with dozens of fans crowd-surfing Ripley – who counts mosh pits as her favourite places – around the ring as she held her prize aloft.
👹 She stands tall above the rest. 👹#WWENXT #NXTWomensTitle #AndNew @RheaRipley_WWE pic.twitter.com/afnm69A0C0
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) December 19, 2019
“To be honest, there’s actually no way to explain exactly how I’m feeling,” Ripley said after the bout.
“The best way that I can probably explain it is that I’m ecstatic – I got to go out there, do what I love and then make history once again.
“That’s what I do, I make history.”
Ripley, 23, first made history in July 2017 when she became the first South Australian woman signed by WWE, the world leader in professional wrestling.
By 2018, she had competed in two internationally-telecast tournaments and held one of NXT’s satellite championships, its UK Women’s title.
Thursday’s victory caps off an incredible 2019 for the former Glenelg resident that has seen her defeat WWE’s top stars – Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks – in the ring.
She also stood toe-to-toe with the company’s poster girl, Becky Lynch, won the annual Survivor Series event and captained the first-ever all-women’s team in a War Games match.
An incredible main event and a new champion. One of the most dominant reigns over the @WWENXT Women’s division comes to end and another begins. @RheaRipley_WWE will be the one to lead #WWENXT into the new year... Congratulations. #AndNew pic.twitter.com/wXzZlWZIso
— Triple H (@TripleH) December 19, 2019