Aussie WWE champ Rhea Ripley on her drastic transformation, fame and blazing a trail

Aussie WWE star Rhea Ripley is one of the most famous wrestlers in the world. She’s undergone a drastic transformation in recent years.

Matthew Sullivan

5 min read

March 28, 2023 - 1:19PM

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Australian Rhea Ripley is one of the biggest names in WWE right now and she is absolutely loving living life her way.

Ripley, whose real name is Demi Bennett, is at the peak of her powers after making history earlier this year, becoming the first Aussie to win the WWE’s most famous match, the Royal Rumble.

She will take on Charlotte Flair in one of the blockbuster matches at another of WWE’s jewels in the crown, WrestleMania 39 on April 2.

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The 26-year-old from Adelaide made her WWE debut in 2017 and she has racked up victories at the Royal Rumble, WWE Raw Women’s Championship, WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship and NXT Women’s Championship.

The rapid ascendance in the her professional wrestling career has run parallel to a transformation in her own life.

A few years ago 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.

Speaking to news.com.au sitting on a black throne and dressed in all black, Ripley explains

she’s never felt more comfortable in her own skin.

“I feel like I’m just being myself,” she said.

Adelaide’s own Rhea Ripley is taking the WWE by storm. Photo: WWE

“The Rhea Ripley you saw before I moved to America and the start of the (2017 WWE) Mae Young Classic was a very timid young girl and I just wanted to please everyone.

“I used my long hair to hide behind when I was shy or scared. And I just had enough. I went through a lot between the first Mae Young and the second Mae Young and I just taught myself not to care anymore.

“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. I end up pulling a lot of facial expressions that (heavy metal singer) Chris Motionless does in his music videos and I don’t mean to — it’s just I’ve been watching him for so many years and it’s the person I’ve grown into being.

“Dyeing my hair black was definitely a big step. I accidentally dyed it black when I was younger. I was cosplaying as (wrestler) Jeff Hardy and I didn’t realise it was permanent dye. “So I was very scared when I dyeing my hair black but I was like ‘I’ve changed so much over the last few years. My face has matured, my body’s matured, I’ve got short hair this time and I think it would go with the way that I am’.

Rhea Ripley looked very different a few years ago. Picture: Cory Lockwood

Her new all-black look. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

“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.”

Ripley on fame, working with John Cena

As a result of her success in the ring, Ripley’s profile has skyrocketed. She has two million followers on Instagram and 721,000 on TikTok and is regularly stopped on the street by fans in America.

“It’s a little bit crazy sometimes to be honest,” said Ripley, who is dating Bobby Murphy, another pro Australian wrestler.

“It’s weird because some days no one knows who I am and I love it. I get to walk through the shops and just be myself. But then some days it’s just craziness. I’m like, ‘Wow everyone at this shopping centre knows who I am. I feel like I’ve been stopped six times in the last 10 minutes’.

“It’s really cool to know I’m on this sort of platform that does reach so many people because it helps me get the messages out that I want to get out for everyone. Like being confident in their own skin, loving themselves for themselves and all that stuff I really stand by.

“It’s just not the wrestling side that’s cool, but having the platform to help people improve their lives as well is the main reason why I love social media.”

Ripley is fighting at WrestleMania 39. Source: WWE

Ripley is now one of the most recognisable and marketable wrestlers in WWE’s entire stable.

That was obvious when she teamed up with wrestling icon John Cena for a WrestleMania promotion where she mimicked Stranger Things character Eleven by crushing a can of soft drink with her mind.

Ripley recalled: “They were like, ‘Do you want to do Stranger Things?’ Absolutely. I love Stranger Things. I’ll be Eleven, she’s the coolest character ever. Who wouldn’t want to be Eleven?

“Going there on the day and actually getting to do it all. It was such a fun experience. It was so wild and to see it all come together, what we ended up making that day. I love it so much. “It’s definitely a vignette I’ve proudly shown a lot of people because it is so epic.

“And then to have John Cena’s voice over it was another really cool moment for me. “Watching him growing up and knowing that he knows who I am is cool.”

Blazing a trail for Aussie wrestlers

Ripley is one of a handful of Australians plying their trade in the WWE and its other brands including RAW, Smackdown and NXT.

Becoming a WWE champion after growing up on the other side of the world is no mean feat, and Ripley wants to continue being a trailblazer for aspiring Aussie wrestlers.

“It makes me extremely proud,” she said of her growing legacy.

“It’s really from Adelaide, South Australia, and every time I walk out to the ring it’s such a thing to think that little old me gets to make all this history for Australia.

“I definitely hope it’s helping put Australian wrestling on the map because there are so many fantastic athletes down in Australia that really deserve the spotlight and deserve to be over here.

“I’m hoping I can help pave the way a little just like Emma, Buddy Murphy, Peyton Royce and Billie Kay paved the way for me.

“For me, it’s really special to be able to make Australian wrestling history. That’s really cool.

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