3 directions for Rhea Ripley as a singles competitor
Rhea Ripley turned heel on the 18th April 2022 episode of Monday Night RAW. The Nightmare attacked her Liv For Brutality partner, Liv Morgan, after they lost a women's tag team title match. Their loss at the hands of Naomi and Sasha Banks came when the Boss pinned Ripley following a double-team maneuver on the Nightmare.
What a match! And STILL the @WWE Women's Tag Team Champions @SashaBanksWWE & @NaomiWWE! #WWERaw https://t.co/428J4ALYE1
A brief argument ensued, ending with the former RAW Women's Champion executing a Riptide on Morgan before beating down the latter. Ripley proceeded to walk off to a smattering of boos, refusing to offer any explanation when asked about her actions in a backstage interview.
With the breakup of the tag team barely two weeks after WrestleMania 38, a heel singles run seems to be on the cards for Ripley. This has opened up an exciting array of possible ways for the Nightmare to impose her brutality on the RAW women's division.
Here are three directions for the former WWE tag team champion as a singles competitor
#3: Rhea Ripley and former tag partner Liv Morgan have unfinished business
WHAT IS HAPPENING?!
@RheaRIpley_WWE just betrayed @YaOnlyLivvOnce on #WWERaw! https://t.co/KoK1PPUUCj
Rhea Ripley's betrayal of former tag partner Liv Morgan is almost certain to bear consequences. Morgan is likely to seek answers from the former NXT women's Champion concerning the shocking attack.
This may lead to a program between the two, culminating in a match at WrestleMania Backlash to determine once and for all who the weak link in their team was.
This is definitely an interesting direction that the WWE Universe would be able to emotionally invest in.
#2: Rhea Ripley can challenge RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair
Last night @BiancaBelairWWE and I absolutely brutalized each other! 👹
As for @shirai_io interfering, you just proved to everyone how much of a coward you truly are. And @CandiceLeRae... I guess you’re alright.
#NXTonUSA #WWENXT https://t.co/zeubO4y2N0
Rhea Ripley is a former RAW Women's Champion. The inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion also shares a long history with current holder Bianca Belair. The pair have amazing chemistry in the ring and have both been heralded as the future of the women's division.
With all this in mind, a potential feud between the duo has the potential to deliver on every level. With a hugely popular face champion and a dominant heel challenger having a rivalry that has not been done on the main roster and eventually topping it off with a great match, this scenario has the potential to fire on all cylinders.
#1: Rhea Ripley would be a dream addition to Edge and Damian Priest's stable
Beware.
@EdgeRatedR @ArcherofInfamy
#WWERaw https://t.co/tvBjal6NMH
Rhea Ripley has been cited as a prime candidate to join Edge and Damian Priest's newly formed group by the WWE Universe since WrestleMania 38. Speculation has been rampant, with purple background lighting for segments involving the Australian superstar seeming to foreshadow her recruitment to the alliance.
Like Priest, Ripley is a former singles champion who needs to maintain visibility and prove that she can thrive without being in the title picture.
Now that the Nightmare is a singles competitor, she can be attached to the heel stable, giving her a spotlight under which to establish herself as she makes her way to the top of the women's division.