Rhea Ripley wants WWE Hall of Famer to return and face her at WrestleMania

By Danny Hart
Modified Apr 09, 2021 17:19 IST
Rhea Ripley is a former NXT Women's Champion and NXT UK Women's Champion
Rhea Ripley is a former NXT Women's Champion and NXT UK Women's Champion

Rhea Ripley is hoping to face WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix in a dream match at WrestleMania one day.

Phoenix, a 2017 WWE Hall of Famer, currently works as an NXT commentator. The 40-year-old returned to in-ring action in 2018 after a five-year absence but has not competed in a match since the 2020 Royal Rumble.

Corriere dello Sport’s Marco Ercole asked Ripley in a WWE media call if she had a dream opponent in mind for a future WrestleMania event. The 24-year-old said she would like to test her toughness against Phoenix.

“One person that I would love if she came back, and if she did I would love to have a WrestleMania [match] against her, is Beth Phoenix. I think that would be absolutely amazing. I just wanna step in the ring with her. She’s such a bada** and I really want to see exactly how tough she is, because I know that she’s tough but I want to see if I can stand in the ring with her. I think that would be a really epic match.”

Although Phoenix has competed in four matches since her 2018 return, she has not participated in a singles match since 2012. Her last one-on-one match ended with a victory against AJ Lee on the October 29, 2012 episode of RAW.

Rhea Ripley’s return to the WrestleMania stage

Rhea Ripley will face Asuka at WrestleMania 37
Rhea Ripley will face Asuka at WrestleMania 37

Rhea Ripley lost the NXT Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair last year at WrestleMania 36.

The match was originally supposed to take place in front of over 70,000 fans at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it occurred without fans in attendance at WWE’s Performance Center instead.

One year on, Rhea Ripley is preparing to challenge Asuka for the RAW Women’s Championship at Sunday’s WrestleMania 37 event.

Unlike last year, 25,000 fans will be inside Raymond James Stadium for Ripley’s upcoming WrestleMania match.

Please credit Corriere dello Sport’s Marco Ercole and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

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