Had Rhea Ripley not beaten Charlotte Flair, legendary WWE champion would have "quit the business"
At WrestleMania 39, if Rhea Ripley had not beaten Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship, a WWE veteran was going to quit the pro wrestling business altogether.
The Judgment Day member entered the Royal Rumble 2023 as the #1 entrant and went on to win the 30-woman contest. She then challenged The Queen for the SmackDown Women's Title at The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Mami was on a path of revenge. She wanted to pin Flair after she lost the NXT Women's Championship to the latter star back in 2020 at WrestleMania 36. The 27-year-old female star pushed Charlotte Flair to her limits and, following a hard-hitting contest became the new WWE Women's Champion.
Interestingly, before hitting the big leagues, Ripley honed her skills under WWE veteran Lance Storm's watchful eye at the Performance Center. Speaking on the latest edition of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, the former Intercontinental Champion noted that he occasionally keeps in touch with his old students, one of them being Rhea Ripley.
Lance Storm revealed a story when he messaged Mami and mentioned if she doesn't win at WrestleMania 39, he will be out of the business:
"So the second time around, again we don't keep in touch much, but occasionally, I'll DM her (Rhea Ripley) and this last year when she had Charlotte again. They just announced the match, I just sent her a DM, I'm like, 'If you don't win this year, I'll have to quit the business,'" he said. [From 24:43 to 25:05]
Check out the full interview below:
Rhea Ripley reacted to two Judgment Day "members" facing off on the upcoming WWE RAW
WWE recently announced that on the upcoming edition of Monday Night RAW, JD McDonagh will go face-to-face against R-Truth in a singles competition.
The 52-year-old star has once defeated McDonagh on RAW in a "Loser Leaves Judgment Day" match. However, Damian Priest and Ripley both have confirmed that the 33-year-old star is still a part of the villainous faction.
Even though Truth has suffered a beating at the hands of The Judgment Day members, he still considers himself as part of the group. The current WWE Women's World Champion reacted to the social media match announcement post made by the company.
Check out Rhea Ripley's tweet below:
"😪," she wrote.
For now, The Nightmare is involved in a feud with Nia Jax, and the two women are reportedly set for a title match at the 2024 Elimination Chamber. Fans will be excited to see who will win the traditional six-woman Elimination Chamber to potentially challenge Mami at WWE WrestleMania 40.
Do you think Lance Storm would have quit the business if Rhea Ripley had not beaten Charlotte Flair? Sound off in the comments section below.
If you use any quotes from the first half of this article, please credit Insight with Chris Van Vliet and add an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for transcription.