4 potential feuds for NEW WWE SmackDown Women's champion Rhea Ripley after WrestleMania 39
Rhea Ripley is the new WWE SmackDown Women's champion. The Nightmare managed to overcome Charlotte Flair to become a two-time women's champion in a jaw-dropping bout. After knocking off the most decorated women's champion in WWE history, Ripley sits atop the blue brand's women's division, facing a wide array of challengers.
Who will be the first to step up to the Eradicator? Who is in the best position to challenge her looming dominance over the blue brand? Who will be her biggest rival?
Here are four possible feuds for Rhea Ripley on SmackDown after her win at WWE WrestleMania 39:
#4: Rhea Ripley could be involved in a WrestleMania 39 rematch at Backlash...
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Rhea Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair quite decisively at WrestleMania 39. However, it's a well-established WWE tradition to book the first premium live event after the Show of Shows to be rematch-laden. The Queen herself lost the SmackDown Women's Championship at last year's Backlash after defeating Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 38.
Flair could thus seek a rematch to reclaim her gold, giving Ripley the chance to solidify herself as champion by defeating her again. This would put a permanent end to the feud and empower the champion to start her (hopefully long and dominant) reign on a strong note.
#3: A hometown hero story in Puerto Rico
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@RheaRipley_WWE is UNSTOPPABLE!
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The Judgment Day, through Dominik Mysterio's feud with his father Rey, crossed swords with Legado Del Fantasma many times on the road to WrestleMania 39. The Santos Escobar-led faction came to the new Hall of Famer's defense time and again, earning his respect. It also prompted Rey to seemingly join forces with them to form the new Latino World Order on WrestleMania SmackDown.
Legado's only female member, Zelina Vega, is a native of Puerto Rico, where Backlash emanates from in May. WWE, especially under Triple H, has shown a great affinity for the "hometown hero" angle, executing it beautifully with both Drew McIntyre and Sami Zayn. Why not give Vega the same rub by having her challenge Ripley in her native island?
Even if the former Queen of The Ring fails to win, she will be greatly elevated by the feud, whilst furthering Ripley's standing as a dominant heel.
#2 & #1: Two familiar foes could welcome Rhea Ripley to WWE SmackDown after WrestleMania 39
Rhea Ripley has a great deal of history with Raquel Rodriguez. The duo had an amazing rivalry in NXT, standing out as leaders of their generation alongside Bianca Belair. Their most recent interaction came at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Ripley eliminated Rodriguez on her way to winning the entire thing.
This rivalry could be rekindled after The Nightmare's big win at WrestleMania 39. With WWE putting more emphasis on long-term storytelling under Triple H, this could lead to Rodriguez's first world title win somewhere down the road. It could be the start of an epic star-making rivalry for the powerhouse babyface courtesy of one of her biggest career rivals.
If not Rodriguez, Ripley could face her former (and Raquel's current) tag team partner Liv Morgan. The duo have a lot of history as friends and foes, including being the joint Iron Women in this year's Royal Rumble match.