Rhea Ripley explains her absence from WWE TV for almost 2 months
On Night Two of WWE WrestleMania 37, Rhea Ripley defeated Asuka in the semi-main event for the RAW Women's Championship. It marked her first title win on the main roster and it came at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
However, before her arrival on the main roster, The Nightmare was absent from WWE television for almost two months. Despite being the runner-up in the Women's Royal Rumble in January, she was nowhere to be found after the event.
Ripley was announced as the main roster call-up on February 22 but it took another month for her to appear on RAW. Speaking on WWE's The Bump, the RAW Women's Champion discussed why she was absent from television for a while:
"Obviously I wanted to win the Royal Rumble but I'm very happy for Bianca that she got that spotlight that she really does deserve but that month after that, I was sort of just like I was sitting there at RAW in catering trying to like figure out what I'm going to do. Trying to pick my timing well to pretty much debut. So that's what I had been doing that month, I was just sort of trying to find the right time to show the world exactly who I am."
Rhea Ripley was given her farewell from NXT in December 2020 at NXT New Year's Evil. She competed against the current NXT Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez in a Last Woman Standing match which saw Gonzalez win over Ripley.
The Nightmare's debut on the main roster came when she showed up on RAW and confronted Asuka, who at the time was holding the RAW Women's Championship.
Soon a match was set for WrestleMania where Ripley dethroned the Empress of Tomorrow.
Rhea Ripley faced Asuka in a WrestleMania rematch earlier this week on WWE RAW
After Rhea Ripley's hard-fought match against Asuka on night two of WrestleMania, both of them were scheduled for a rematch the next night on WWE RAW.
Asuka and Rhea tried to outlast each other to win the WWE RAW Women's Championship, but the match ended in a no contest.
The bout was interrupted by Charlotte Flair, who did not appear at this year's WrestleMania. She cut a promo earlier in the night, voicing her grievances before showing her bitter side during Asuka vs. Rhea.
With WWE WrestleMania Backlash drawing closer, fans are speculating whether this encounter could result in a triple threat match at the event.
Let us know what you think about the future of the RAW Women's Championship in the comments section below.