Current champion is "a little jealous" of Rhea Ripley for being able to work with WWE legend
WWE RAW Women's Champion Bianca Belair recently shared why she was slightly jealous of Rhea Ripley.
Ripley has been on the rise in WWE since joining The Judgment Day. After being heavily involved with the faction's feuds against legends such as Edge and Rey Mysterio, The Eradicator turned her attention to the women's title. She won the 2023 Royal Rumble and then defeated Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39 to become the SmackDown Women's Champion.
In a recent conversation with Ring The Belle, The EST praised Ripley for her body of work. She claimed that The Judgment Day member had been part of some fantastic angles over the last 12 months. Belair conceded that she was jealous of Ripley for being able to work with her dream opponent, Beth Phoenix.
"Rhea's had a great year. She doing a lot of amazing, great things. I'm just like, 'I wanted that.' Beth is amazing, she's great. Whenever I came into WWE, my answer was always dream match with a legend was Beth Phoenix. I'm excited for Rhea, she's doing amazing things, and I'm excited for her WrestleMania match. But I was a little jealous when she got to wrestle Beth Phoenix." [3:00 - 3:25]
You can watch the full interview here:
Rhea Ripley is gearing up for a match against Zelina Vega
While Rhea Ripley has been able to do great things over the last few months, she will be in for a unique challenge when she faces Zelina Vega at Backlash 2023.
The former Queen's Crown winner got a championship opportunity after a conversation with WWE official Adam Pearce. She claimed she would be the best challenger for Ripley's title since the event was happening in Puerto Rico and she was a hometown favorite.
@RheaRipley_WWE will defend her #SmackDown Women’s Championship against @ZelinaVegaWWE at #WWEBacklash in Puerto Rico!
Mami vs Little Pretzel 🥨 twitter.com/wwe/status/164…
The two stars crossed paths this week on SmackDown when Ripley tried to blindside Vega. However, the LWO member countered her attempt and ran out of the ring.
Do you think Zelina will defeat Rhea Ripley in Puerto Rico? Let us know your predictions in the comments section below.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the Ring The Belle and add a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.