Rhea Ripley & Dominik Mysterio were not supposed to be in a WWE relationship

Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio formed one of the most formidable on-screen couples in WWE. Their alliance first started in 2022, when Dominik turned on his father, Rey Mysterio, at the Clash at the Castle Premium Live Event and aligned with The Judgment Day.

Since then, the pairing became a staple of Monday Night RAW and was projected to be in a kayfabe relationship on WWE TV. However, Ripley has shed light on the reality of this angle, revealing that it wasn't supposed to be a relationship storyline.

During the first episode of the WWE: Unreal Netflix docuseries, the former Women's World Champion talked about her rivalry with Liv Morgan while also talking about how her on-screen dynamic with Dominik was supposed to be different.

“So the story between me, Liv and Dom has actually been going for like an eternity. It feels like it. Liv and I, we have been feuding for like three years. It’s been a long time cause we started as a tag team and Dom and I, we kind of just like, we kinda got put into this storyline together, which I don’t think was supposed to be a relationship storyline," she said. [From 14:50 onwards]

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While the initial plans may not have been to pair Ripley and Dominik as an on-screen couple, the popularity and chemistry of the two stars likely led to WWE pivoting in that direction.

They remained a storyline couple till August last year, when Dirty Dom turned on Ripley after helping Liv Morgan retain the Women's World Championship.

Rhea Ripley called out Liv Morgan for taking her family away from her

After Dominik Mysterio sided with Liv Morgan, he made her the newest member of The Judgment Day. Subsequently, this led to Rhea Ripley's exit from the faction.

During the first episode of WWE: Unreal, Ripley opened up on how Liv Morgan "ruined" her life.

"Then Liv Morgan decided to try and steal my family, which she accomplished. Dom turned on me and helped Liv beat me for the Women’s World Championship. It was a wild ride. Before that, she’d ruined my entire life at work,” she mentioned. [15:10 onwards]

Ripley and Liv started out as tag team partners before The Eradicator turned on her following WrestleMania 38.

Since then, the two have swapped the roles of a heel and babyface, with Liv Morgan turning the tables on Rhea Ripley at SummerSlam last year thanks to Dominik Mysterio.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit WWE: Unreal on Netflix and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

About the author

Sherjeel Malik is a writer at Sportskeeda and covers pro wrestling. He was hooked on the product from the moment he saw The Hardy Boyz jumping off ladders during the Attitude Era. While he comes from an engineering background, Sherjeel’s love for pro wrestling and content writing led him to pursue a career in sports journalism. Before assuming his current role at Sportskeeda, Sherjeel worked at other reputable organizations for five years.

While writing articles, he ensures that he only relies on credible sources for information and covers relevant subjects that do not project an agenda against a particular person or association. WWE legend Paul Heyman once shared Sherjeel’s work on his social media handle.

Sherjeel’s earliest memory of pro wrestling is watching Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Undertaker square off for the WWE Title in the main event of a pay-per-view in 1998. His favorite wrestlers are Randy Orton and Jeff Hardy. While he admires Orton for his character work as a heel, he looks up to Jeff because of his unique wrestling style and risk-taking ability.

If he could go back to the Attitude Era, Sherjeel would like to manage Ken Shamrock and be his mouthpiece. He feels Shamrock’s promo skills prevented him from becoming a main event-level act in WWE. Hence, he would like to help the UFC Hall of Famer get over with fans.

When not writing about pro wrestling, he likes to read classics and fiction books.

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Edited by Arsh Das