Rhea Ripley wins major accolade outside of WWE to end 2023
Rhea Ripley dominated WWE throughout 2023 and has now closed the year with a major accolade from outside of the company.
The Eradicator kicked off her year with a Women's Royal Rumble win, which led to a SmackDown Women's Championship win over Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39. She has also run wild on both brands as a member of The Judgment Day.
Ripley became the inaugural WWE Women's World Champion when the blue brand title was re-christened in June. The 27-year-old has picked up significant wins over several stars in 2013, including Bayley, Zelina Vega, Natalya, Raquel Rodriguez, Liv Morgan, and Zoey Stark, among others.
The inaugural WWE NXT UK Women's Champion has just been named ESPN's Female Wrestler of the Year for 2023. A 17-person panel of voters was chosen by ESPN to decide their annual pro wrestling awards. Brandon Caldwell, a writer who is also on the panel, looked back at Ripley's strong year, and declared her to be one of the biggest names in the business.
"Ripley's dominant year isn't only encapsulated by her run as champion or singles star, as she never tasted defeat in a one-on-one match in 2023. It is further evident by her leadership role within Judgment Day, a faction that came in under Edge's watchful eye, but now is one of the main focal points of Monday Night Raw, all with Ripley as one of the group's leaders."
He continued further:
"When the group set out to claim titles across WWE, Ripley frequently saw the vision through as the group at one point held both the undisputed tag titles and NXT North American title to go along with her women's title. Ripley's dominance in NXT and NXT UK foretold of her time as 'The Eradicator' of the main roster. Now, she's without question one of the biggest names in wrestling," wrote Caldwell.
The Judgment Day's Mami last retained her title over Zoey Stark at WWE Survivor Series on November 25th. She picked up a non-title win over Maxxine Dupri on RAW two weeks ago, and will now go on to defend against Ivy Nile on January 1st during the Day 1 RAW special.
WWE and Stardom talents in tie for Female Wrestler of the Year Runner-Up
Two current champions tied for the runner-up spot to Rhea Ripley's Female Wrestler of the Year award from ESPN.
IYO SKY represented WWE in the runner-up tie, while Giulia represented Stardom. The Damage CTRL member is the current WWE Women's Champion, and the Donna Del Mondo leader is the current Artist of Stardom Champion.
The Genius Of The Sky did not become champion until pinning Bianca Belair at WWE SummerSlam in August, but she beat several stars before that, including Candice LeRae, Mia Yim, and Shotzi. SKY won Money in the Bank in July, and that led to her big cash-in title win over The EST. The 33-year-old also had tag team success as a member of Damage CTRL this year.
The Gladiator Of Glorias held the World of Stardom Championship from late 2022 - April 2023. Giulia then won the NJPW Strong Women's Championship from Willow Nightingale in July, and since then has retained over Yuu, Risa Sera, Ami Sourei, Deonna Purrazzo, and others. The 29-year-old teamed with Mai Sakurai and Thekla to win the Artist of Stardom Championship in May.
What do you think of Rhea Ripley's 2023? Who had the better year - IYO SKY or Giulia? Let us know in the comments section below!