4 reasons why Rhea Ripley must return to WWE as a babyface
Rhea Ripley is currently out of action from WWE with a shoulder injury. The Judgment Day's Eradicator was injured by Liv Morgan in a backstage brawl on the RAW after WrestleMania XL, forcing her to vacate the Women's World Championship after an epic 380-day reign.
In The Nightmare's absence, Morgan has made it her mission to "take everything" from her former tag team partner-turned-rival. Not only has the two-time world champion taken the title Ripley vacated, but she has her eyes firmly set on the latter's "Latino Heat," Dominik Mysterio. Fans cannot wait until Mami returns so they can see how the storyline plays out.
Here are four reasons why, when Rhea Ripley does return to WWE, she must do so as a babyface
#4: The WWE Universe loves Rhea Ripley
Despite being a nominal heel by booking, Rhea Ripley is arguably the most popular star in WWE's women's division. The Eradicator has been receiving positive crowd reactions for a while now despite continuing to operate as a villain. She has successfully managed to elicit negative reactions when needed by committing heelish acts, but after returning from injury, it may not be feasible.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and there's arguably no sidelined star in the women's division currently missed more than Ripley. It's almost guaranteed that her return will be met by a monster pop, which will make it impractical to keep on making her swim against the current. Therefore, Triple H and the creative team must listen to the audience and bring her back as a heroic character
#3: Liv Morgan's heel run as WWE Women's World Champion needs Rhea Ripley to return as a face
Liv Morgan has gone from strength to strength since putting Rhea Ripley on the shelf. Morgan's revenge tour has gone from sidelining her former partner and winning the Women's World Title formerly held by The Eradicator to trying to infiltrate The Judgment Day. She's well on her way to achieving this, judging by Dominik Mysterio's visible confusion in her presence.
This has made the two-time women's champion arguably the biggest heel in the RAW women's division. Every great heel needs great babyfaces to work with, and the outgoing Becky Lynch did a good job putting over Morgan. However, The Nightmare is her ultimate opponent due to the personal nature of their feud. This potential rivalry can only reach full potential if Mami returns as a babyface
#2: Rhea Ripley needs to leave The Judgment Day
While Rhea Ripley is arguably the most popular female superstar in WWE, she is still a member of the top heel faction on Monday Night RAW. The Judgment Day as a group still generates good heel heat from the audience, and still has mileage as a villainous group. In particular, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh and Finn Balor still need to be in the heel faction because they have more to achieve in it.
With Ripley sure to receive positive reactions upon her return, it's best for The Judgment Day to turn her babyface and eject her from the group. This would allow both parties to go in the directions most beneficial to them, which happen to be opposite to each other. To cap it all off, the faction may have a ready replacement for their queenpin in Liv Morgan, making it a smooth transition.
#1: The WWE RAW Women's division needs a top babyface after Becky Lynch's exit
Rhea Ripley's unfortunate injury layoff deprived the WWE RAW women's division of her star power, leaving a big hole in the main event scene. In her absence, Becky Lynch stepped into the void, covering it admirably while also helping Liv Morgan step up her game as a top heel. With The Man now gone for the foreseeable future due to her contract expiring, the division needs a top babyface.
Morgan has largely stepped into the void left by Ripley as a top heel and champion, meaning that The Nightmare could step into the space once occupied by Lynch. Given her popularity before injury, and how sorely she is missed in her absence, it makes all the sense in the world for her to return as a babyface. This will help the red brand recover much faster from the loss of Big Time Becks.