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WWE has often been criticized in recent times for being too predictable and fans were on the verge of rioting again when Charlotte Flair won the Royal Rumble 2020, expecting that the WWE Universe would get yet another feud between her and Becky Lynch. But the company threw us all a curveball by involving the NXT Women's Champion, Rhea Ripley into the mix.
Three weeks from Royal Rumble, at NXT TakeOver: Portland, Charlotte attacked Ripley after her championship match against Bianca Belair and accepted her challenge. With this, we have a historic match set for WrestleMania 36 as Charlotte Flair will use her Royal Rumble victory to take on Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship.
While Ripley has been one of the most impactful Superstars of the Black and Gold brand, there are huge chances that she won't win her match against Charlotte at WrestleMania 36. Nonetheless, the match and the rivalry is sure to benefit the Nightmare and would end up portraying her as a star.
So with that, let's take a look at the five signs why Ripley won't defeat Charlotte at WrestleMania 36. Do let us know your opinions and thoughts in the comments section below.
#5 The attempt to establish NXT as a proper third brand
One of the biggest consequences of Charlotte Flair defeating Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 36 and becoming the new NXT Women's Champion would be the Queen moving to NXT. In the last six months or so, WWE has massively attempted to establish NXT as its proper third brand after RAW and SmackDown.
Be it the dominating showing of the brand at Survivor Series 2019, stars like Finn Balor moving to NXT, or it getting a live broadcasting deal with the USA Network, NXT made some huge strides last year. Knowing Triple H, he's just getting started with his baby project!
With NXT directly competing with AEW Dynamite on Wednesday nights, the appearance of a Superstar like Charlotte is sure to attract more viewers to NXT and help them in this rating war.
#4 Charlotte to break Ric Flair's record of 16 World titles
Charlotte is arguably the best female pro-wrestler in the world. Combined with her Flair charisma, attitude, amazing mic skills, and incredible in-ring skills, there's no arguing the fact that she is on the right path to further his father Ric Flair's legacy.
In her relatively short career on the main roster, starting in 2015, Charlotte is already a 10-time Women's Champion in WWE. If the rumors are to be believed, WWE is planning to allow her to break his father's iconic WWE record of 16 World title reigns. Of course, the Superstar closest to breaking it is John Cena, who ties the Nature Boy's record with 16 World Championships, but the Champ reportedly doesn't want to break Flair's record.
Looking at the rate with which Charlotte is piling up Championship reigns, it won't take her more than two or three years to break her father's record. An interesting thing that could happen if she defeats Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania is that WWE might start counting the NXT title reigns as proper world title reigns as well. This would play another major role in establishing NXT as the third proper brand of WWE.,
#3 Ripley already has two victories over Charlotte
Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair are no strangers to each other. During the build-up to the three-way Survivor Series PPV between RAW, SmackDown, and NXT, Ripley took on Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks in a triple threat match on SmackDown. After an amazing back and forth match, it was the Nightmare who innovatively pinned the Queen while she was performing her submission hold on the Boss.
The two again faced off at the traditional 5-on-5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match. While Ripley didn't directly pin Flair, it was her team NXT which won the match. With this, Ripley is effectively 2-0 up on Charlotte.
A victory at WrestleMania for the Nightmare would mean a total dominance over the Queen, which might not be a perfect scenario. But a loss for her would keep the doors open for a future rematch to settle the score. I'm sure the two would meet each other again in the future and WWE would have a readymade storyline for them when they do so.
#2 Interesting new match-ups for Charlotte in NXT
Charlotte has pretty much feuded with every female Superstar on the main roster, and more often than not, has come out victorious. Nothing to take away from the performers, but the WWE Universe has seen way too many similar feuds for the Queen and it's time for a refreshing change.
Charlotte defeating Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania to become the new NXT Women's Champion would most probably lead to her becoming a full-time member of the NXT roster. Now, the roster already consists of some amazing talents and provide for some interesting new match-ups for the Queen.
Imagine her defending the title against the likes of Toni Storm, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, and many others. In fact, with her putting her hands on Bianca Belair recently, she could very well be her first challenger if she ends up winning the NXT Women's title at WrestleMania.
While the Yellow and Black brand isn't as popular as its main roster counterparts, there's no denying the fact that NXT is the land of ultimate competition. With the likes of Charlotte leading its Women's division, there's no stopping them.
#1 If Rhea defeats Charlotte, it'll be tough to realistically book any NXT Superstar to beat her for the title afterward
Now, this might probably be another major issue with this match. Defending her NXT Women's Title against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36 is hands down the biggest match in Rhea Ripley's career so far. Even though she has made a huge impression for herself in her short stint during the Survivor Series, if she ends up defeating the Queen at WrestleMania 36, she'll become an overnight sensation and "the next big thing".
Now imagine this being the case. Then Charlotte would stay on the main roster, and Ripley would stay on NXT. But if she successfully defends her title against someone like Charlotte, how would WWE book any other Superstar to beat her afterward? The kind of momentum that she'll get following this victory would be too huge for anyone to realistically defeat her for a long time after 'Mania.
As mentioned earlier, even a defeat here won't hurt her momentum as she has already made history by being the first champion from NXT whom a Royal Rumble winner has chosen to compete against over the main-roster champions.
