5 Things you might not know about NXT UK Superstar Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley has been wrestling since the age of 16, but she became a worldwide sensation when she made her WWE debut at the inaugural Mae Young Classic. Since then, Ripley has become the face of NXT UK and gone on to win the first ever NXT UK Women's Championship.

Ripley will also look to make a splash at the upcoming Survivor Series pay-per-view. Billed as a clash between WWE's three brands (RAW, SmackDown, and NXT), Ripley made her presence felt on the last episode of SmackDown Live with a successful tag team debut (with Tegan Nox). In what may very well have been a visual demonstration of WWE's future, Ripley appeared alongside Triple H and the NXT roster at the show's conclusion.

While Ripley is set to be a formidable force in the years to come, many wrestling fans simply don't know much about the former NXT UK Women's Champion. Ripley recently appeared on an episode of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia where she revealed several little known facts about herself.

#5. She changed her look to get away from the Toni Storm comparisons

When Rhea Ripley made her WWE debut in 2017, she had long flowing blonde locks and looked quite a bit like fellow Aussie Superstar Toni Storm. With fans often comparing the two Superstars, Ripley decided it was time for a change and drastically altered her look.

Ripley told Chasing Glory host Lilian Garcia:

"Growing up in Australia, I always had the long beachy hair. That was just who I was, but then when I got here and Toni Storm was also here, people kept saying we looked the same because we're both rockers, as well. I was like, 'I've got to steer away from Toni,' and a few people mentioned that I should cut my hair and I thought about it as well."

Since that time, Ripley has sported a slicked-back cut that goes well with her rugged in-ring persona. She credits the new look for giving her a change in attitude, as well.

"One day we had a show in Ocala and it was stinking hot - I wasn't even doing much. We had like a Rumble and I decided to just wet my hair before hand because it was too hot. I was just dying backstage and I went out there and wrestled and said, 'That was the best thing I've ever done.' So, I just do it from now on. I like it. I like whipping my hair at people, it's great. Watching them flinch, I love it!"

Ripley has found a home in WWE, where she is allowed to be herself and although it is a publicly traded billion dollar company, don't expect Ripley to dress in business casual anytime soon:

"When we have to dress up and stuff, they're like, 'Business casual.' I'm like, 'Guys, I don't do business casual.' If I can wear a leather jacket with studs and chains on it, that's my business casual. I don't even want to wear heels....It's good. Now that I've shown them who I am and the fans know who I am, I get away with being me."

#4. Her toughness comes from music

Rhea Ripley credits music for the toughness she has become known for throughout the world of professional wrestling. When Lilian Garcia asked Ripley about the origins of her toughness, Ripley replied,

"Probably the music I listen to. I love heavy metal and rock and all that stuff. It really does get me fired up. That's why I say that I have to have a really good theme song before I go out because I need that to get into that mentality...I relate to a lot of the music I listen to and it does fire me up."

The former NXT UK Women's Champion recounted a time she entered a mosh pit as a teen:

"I got hit in the face by this big dude and I didn't even flinch. I didn't care. I had blood in my teeth and...I smiled. I went back in the pit and was like, 'Let's go.' I ended up fighting the same dude. We did a wall of death and as soon as they said, 'Go!' we ran into each other and I made sure to be across from this dude that hit me in the face because I was like, 'I'm gonna get you back!'

"He was like, 'I have to be against a girl?' As soon as we ran, I fly kicked him right in the face. They came up to me afterwards and were like, 'You're so hardcore. You're sick.' Yeah, I am. You're welcome."

Readers will be hard-pressed to find a story more metal than that.

Music was also instrumental for Ripley when she made her in-ring debut at the age of 17:

"I was so scared and my heart was beating so fast, but I came out to my favorite song which was Of Mice and Men's Second and Sebring, which is a song about his mom who died from having a heart problem that he has now, as well, so he's not allowed to sing anymore.

"He's not in the band, but that was one of the songs that I loved because it had so much emotion and passion in it. It really helped rev me up for my match and that was the song that I had until I finished in Australia and came here. I had the song the whole time. It's still one of my favorite songs."

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Take a look at Ripley's current entrance theme below:

#3. She's navigated her way through 'mind games' backstage

The world of professional wrestling is nothing, if not political. Wrestlers and wrestling personalities often find it challenging to navigate their way through the intricate inner workings backstage amid wrestling's political landscape.

Rhea Ripley has also had to navigate her way through backstage politics,

"It's hard because in wrestling, there's so many mind games that people like to play. It happens with wrestlers or like anyone - just people in wrestling, in general. Everyone wants to succeed, so they're gonna do whatever they can sometimes. Just finding out who the good ones are is always my plan.

"That's also why I'm very to myself. I trust myself and I trust a handful of people. The rest - I talk to. I'm nice, I'm humble. I'll always be humble. I don't care where I am in life. I'm always gonna be the nice person, even though I'm not in the ring."

Ripley has found at least one true friend while in WWE and the two have quickly become inseparable:

"Reina Gonzalez, for one, I can trust her with anything. I love rooming with the girl. I love training with the girl. I love everything about her. She's probably my best friend here, to be honest. She's great. I have nothing bad to say about Reina Gonzalez at all and that's why she's my tag partner."

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#2. She's made a career of silencing doubters

Rhea Ripley stands tall over all doubters

Rhea Ripley was ten years old when she saw WWE Superstar Triple H compete against the legendary Ric Flair. Ripley watched in awe as 'The Cerebral Assassin' took a screwdriver to 'The Nature Boy's' head, drawing a healthy amount of blood in the process. Much to her own mother's chagrin, it was at that very moment that Ripley decided that professional wrestling was her destiny.

Ripley began training at 16, made her in-ring debut at 17, and in 2017 made her WWE debut at the Mae Young Classic. She had no shortage of doubters along the way, but the detractors only fueled the NXT UK Superstar.

Ripley told Lilian Garcia:

"I just hate when people say that I can't do it. People said I couldn't wrestle - so many people said I couldn't wrestle....everyone was like, 'You like wrestling. Ha-Ha! That's silly, it's fake, you can't do that.' I was like, 'Watch me!'

"So many people said I couldn't wrestle. Even family members said, 'Why would you want to do that? That's silly. You will never make it to WWE.' I'm like, 'Where am I now?' Please tell me I can't do something."

#1. She is a survivor

Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai at the Mae Young Classic

Rhea Ripley struggled in high school and was made to feel 'stupid' for most of her life. When she made it to WWE, the bullying changed forms, but didn't exactly let up.

At one time, Ripley turned to cutting to deal with the pain she felt:

"I abused myself [cutting]. I used to do that when I was younger and even think about it now when I'm really beating myself up. It sort of made me feel more alive than I felt on the inside. I felt very dead on the inside and broken. When you rip the skin, you know you're still alive and the blood is still pumping because it's coming out. That's how I felt, at least.

"I'm not too sure if everyone feels that way because everyone's story is different and everyone feels differently, but that's how I felt. I used to do that when I was younger and I still have scars to show. I've got them on my thigh. The ones on my wrist aren't very visible because they've healed, but the one thing that really kept me going was that I wanted to make it here."

Ripley credits wrestling for having saved her life.

The NXT UK Superstar still faces daily backlash from nameless, faceless, online trolls, but has succeeded in using the bullying as motivation,

"There's so many keyboard warriors that just love to pick on wrestlers. They just absolutely love it. I don't get why they love it, but at the same time, I'm like, 'Give me more.' Pick on me, please. It's only going to light a fire and I'm going to prove you wrong."

Ripley intentionally reads all internet comments about herself, looks at everything she's tagged in, and frequently performs vanity searches. She does so in an attempt to find extra motivation:

"I get to see all those people that hate on me and want to bring me down, but I'm not gonna let them bring me down. I'm gonna use it to sky rocket through the roof. I love reading that stuff. I'll purposefully post pictures and write little comments like, 'Tell me what you hate about me. Hate me, see if I care.'

"Yes, I get a lot of things I disagree with, like body shaming, for one, where they're just like, 'You're too muscular, you look like a man.' You're just insecure. You're a little scrawny dude or you just can't move because you're too busy on your computer."

Readers may watch Lilian Garcia's interview with Rhea Ripley in its entirety below: