Mick Foley reacts to major Rhea Ripley announcement
Mick Foley recently reflected on Rhea Ripley's WWE career so far after her 380-day title reign abruptly ended.
Ripley suffered a legitimate shoulder injury after being attacked backstage by Liv Morgan on the April 8 episode of WWE RAW. As a result, she was forced to relinquish the Women's World Championship.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Foley made it clear how much he enjoys watching Ripley's WWE performances. The Hall of Famer also admitted even he did not expect her to become such a megastar at the age of just 27:
"We, here at the Foley family, really thought highly of her since the first time she premiered when we saw her, Royal Rumble 2019," Foley said. "I'd written stories about her saying WWE really had to treat her like the special entity that she is. I'm the first to say, look, I knew she needed special treatment. I didn't know it was gonna be this good. This was bigger and better than anything I could have conceived." [0:13 – 0:43]
Ripley initially made an impression on WWE fans as a participant in the 2017 and 2018 Mae Young Classic tournaments. The Aussie went on to establish herself in NXT UK and NXT before becoming a permanent main roster member in 2021.
Mick Foley makes a prediction about Rhea Ripley
Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer reported that Rhea Ripley is expected to be sidelined for three to four months.
Regardless of how long she is out of action, Mick Foley believes The Judgment Day member's popularity will sky-rocket when she returns:
"We've watched Mami just grow from a superstar into an iconic entity. I have to believe she's gonna come back better than ever and more popular than ever." [0:43 – 0:56]
Ripley's title reign began with a victory over Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39. She defended the title against several opponents, most notably Nia Jax at Elimination Chamber and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania XL.
What was your favorite moment of Rhea Ripley's title reign? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
Please credit Mick Foley's YouTube channel and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.