Rhea Ripley defeats returning WWE star for the first time ever; earns major opportunity

Rhea Ripley just defeated a returning WWE star in a huge match. By doing so, she earned a massive opportunity.

Given that it's Money in the Bank season, WWE is planning out its annual MITB ladder matches for the men's and women's divisions. As a result, the company has planned a series of qualifying matches. Tonight on RAW, Rhea Ripley competed against Zoey Stark and a returning Kairi Sane in a qualifying match.

Early on in the match, Zoey Stark went for a dropkick off the top rope and landed awkwardly on her knee, forcing the match to be stopped as doctors checked on her. She was then taken to the back for medical check-ups, and the bout turned into a singles affair between Sane and Rhea. Ripley was able to defeat Sane with a Riptide for the win. This was the first time ever these two women were competing in a televised match that didn't involve multiple women.

With this win, the former Women's World Champion will join Alexa Bliss and Roxanne Perez in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

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It will be interesting to see if Rhea Ripley will be able to walk away with the Money in the Bank briefcase later this year.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Debottam Saha