3 possible opponents for Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 40
Following the Royal Rumble this past weekend, WWE is now officially on the Road to WrestleMania 40, with fans beginning to fantasy book many potential matchups.
One performer who seems destined to have a featured bout at the Show of Shows is the reigning Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley, who has held the gold since she beat Charlotte Flair at Mania last year.
With many potential opponents for the eradicator to face on the Grandest Stage of Them All, we are going to take a look at three candidates who may indeed be the number one contender for her title come WrestleMania.
#3. WWE's Royal Rumble winning Role Model challenges Rhea Ripley
This Saturday, fans saw Bayley take one step closer to a career-defining win at WrestleMania as she won the Royal Rumble match, earning a shot at the champion of her choosing.
Following her victory at Tropicana Field this weekend, Bayley was asked at the Royal Rumble post-show press conference how it felt to win such an iconic and important match.
"It’s honestly just such a ride. For me, to then, I don’t want to sound too cheesy, like just hang in there, but from the first Rumble that we’ve had, to one of my first one or two years on the main roster, to now, where we are, it’s all about consistency and just seeing the bigger picture.”
With her Damage CTRL teammate IYO SKY currently reigning as the WWE Women's Champion, many are expecting her to potentially go after the Women's World Champion, Rhea Ripley.
After her victory, Bayley took to social media as she called out Rhea Ripley, leading to the Women's World Champion responding to the Royal Rumble winner.
While some fans would like to see Bayley face off against IYO SKY at WrestleMania, Bayley has always been a team player, therefore, she may look to bring more gold to an already dominant Damage CTRL.
#2. Rhea's old teammate looks for revenge
Another shocking moment that fans witnessed at the Royal Rumble this weekend was the dramatic and surprise WWE return of the former SmackDown Women's Champion, Liv Morgan.
The popular superstar did not seem to have lost a step as she put on a great showing in the rumble match, making it to the final two yet again before she was eliminated by the match winner, Bayley.
Speaking to Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture after her return, Liv Morgan was asked how her time off with the injury had been, as well as how it felt to get back into the ring in front of the fans.
"It’s been a journey, the last six months. It’s been a fight, it’s been a struggle. To come back at the Royal Rumble, in the coveted 30 spot, I was very happy and I felt honored. Just happy to be back, happy to be back doing what I love, doing my thing."
The 29-year-old had not been seen on WWE TV since August last year after Rhea Ripley herself attacked her, resulting in Morgan having to be out for several months.
Given their well-documented history together both as rivals and as a tag team, Liv Morgan challenging Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship at WrestleMania 40 would be welcomed by the entire WWE fanbase.
#1. The Man and Mami clash at WrestleMania 40
While there are many worthy candidates for Rhea Ripley to face at WrestleMania 40, no opponent piques the fans' interest more than Becky Lynch.
The first woman to win the main event at WrestleMania recently confronted Rhea Ripley on RAW, with her stating that she would be coming after if she was to win the rumble.
While she did not win the contest, there is still a strong chance she could face the Eradicator at WrestleMania if Bayley chooses to face IYO SKY.
During a recent interview with Strutting From Gorilla, the Irish star explained why she wants to take the Women's World Title off Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania.
"The next stop, which is taking the title off Rhea Ripley. That title, when I hold that title, that title is the main event of every show. Her title has been seen in many main events, but not because she's been defending it, no, just because she's being the accompaniment to the main event. I can't have that. I'm sick of that. I'm sick of that and I'm going to take that title back off her, preferably at WrestleMania."
Over the past year, Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley have arguably been the two biggest stars in WWE, and therefore, a match to decide who the true number one star in the company is will undoubtedly be very alluring.