Rhea Ripley's former rival wants a massive rematch: "The outcome would need to be different this time around" (Exclusive)
Rhea Ripley has held onto the WWE Women's World Championship for over 140 days, and one of her recent rivals, Zelina Vega, has confirmed her interest in a rematch.
The Australian superstar defended her title against the Latino World Order member at Backlash 2023 in Puerto Rico. Despite being on the losing end, Zelina Vega received a lot of praise for her performance that night, and there won't be many fans who'd argue against her getting another shot at Rhea Ripley.
Vega spoke to Sportskeeda Wrestling exclusively during Money in the Bank weekend and opened up about potentially crossing paths with Ripley again. While Zelina would love to have the match, she certainly does not want to lose and is pretty confident that she could get the job done the second time around.
Here's what the former Queen's Crown Tournament winner had to say:
"Yeah, I would love that. I would absolutely love to have a match with Ripley, but I think the outcome would need to be different this time around. So, there is that. But it's, yeah, Rhea is my perfect opposite. So, definitely, regardless of the pain, one of my favorite opponents for sure." [From 1:08 onwards]
Rhea Ripley's title reign thus far and her potential Payback opponent
The Eradicator dethroned Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39 and has since not faced many problems retaining the title. As noted, Ripley successfully defended the belt against Zelina Vega at Backlash and did the same when she wrestled Natalya at Night of Champions in Saudi Arabia.
Weirdly enough, Rhea has not been featured in a high-profile women's title match in recent times, as she was also kept off the SummerSlam card, where she was expected to face Raquel Rodriguez. WWE has clearly been building up a program as Ripley brutally attacked Rodriguez and put her out of action with a storyline knee injury
Payback is the next WWE PLE on the horizon, and even though Rhea Ripley and The Judgment Day seemingly control RAW as the most dominant faction on the brand, she needs a significant challenge to legitimize her reign.
Having her against Raquel Rodriguez at the event could be an ideal move, but would you like to see the match? Sound off in the comments section below.