Aussie Rhea Rhipley claims historic WrestleMania championship victory

Aussie WWE star Rhea Ripley has made more wrestling history, winning a historic title at WrestleMania in an epic match.

Australian WWE star Rhea Ripley has won the SmackDown women’s championship on the opening night of WrestleMania 39.

Ripley defeated defending champion Charlotte Flair in an epic match in front of more than 75,000 fans at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium to win at WrestleMania for the first time.

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It looked like the match could have gone either way before Ripley threw Flair down onto the canvas and pinned her for the required three-count to claim the win.

Ripley tugged Flair’s hair, punched her spine several times and even flipped her opponent so she crashed down into the canvas face first.

#MamiManiapic.twitter.com/gyR6hQGUKN

— WWE (@WWE) April 2, 2023

Aussie Rhea Ripley defeats Charlotte Flair to become the new SmackDown Women's Champion! 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/HnPTZPJTnP

— TAB (@tabcomau) April 2, 2023

Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair match was ENTERTAINING!

— Kevín (@KevOnStage) April 2, 2023

Rhea Ripley on the path to being a generational talent #WrestleMania

— Ryan Glasspiegel (@sportsrapport) April 2, 2023

Hey Rhea Ripley kicks ass.

— Dan Ryckert (@DanRyckert) April 2, 2023

The victory continues Ripley’s rise to the top of WWE after she won the women’s RAW championship at WrestleMania in 2021 and became the first Aussie to win at the Royal Rumble in January.

It was an extremely successful day for Australian wrestlers, with Indi Hartwell winning the NXT women’s championship — the top title in WWE’s second tier competition.

But another Aussie, Grayson Waller, lost an epic unsanctioned match to Johnny Gargano.

Ripley is taking the WWE by storm and has emerged as a bona fide superstar of professional wrestling.

Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair wrestle for the Smackdown women’s championship at WrestleMania. Photo: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP

Rhea Ripley throws Charlotte Flair on her face. Photo: Fox Sports.

The 26-year-old has undergone a radical transformation since making the move to America.

Ripley decided to ditch her long blonde hair, dying it black and cutting it short. She’s acquired several tattoos on a bulked up physique, while black lipstick has become part of her wrestling uniform.

“I feel like I’m just being myself,” Ripley told news.com.au last month.

“That’s the Rhea Ripley you see today. I’m growing as a human outside of wrestling, which is following through into my wrestling character. I’m going out there and being myself.

“I’ve always loved my fans and they wear a lot of the dark make-up and black. They wear a lot of things I do.

“When I dyed it I was terrified but it ended up working thank goodness, because I didn’t want to go through that bleaching process again.

“The black lipstick thing as well — it was so different at the time I did it. Not really anyone wore black lipstick.

“I strive to be different but also myself. I want to stand out but in a way that screams me. So that’s where the black lipstick came from. Now I can’t get rid of it because I feel like I look so weird without it.”

Originally published as Aussie Rhea Rhipley claims historic WrestleMania championship victory