Top 5 Female NXT Superstars Of 2019

#2 Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley capped off a fantastic 2019 in the best way possible

To really understand the year that Rhea Ripley had, the WWE Universe needed to follow her through both NXT UK and NXT. Those who haven't been watching the brand across the pond may not fully understand just how impressive she's been.

Ripley entered the year as the inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion, and though she failed to retain the title at NXT TakeOver: Blackpool, the Mosh Pit Kid and Toni Storm both proved their valor in one of the better matches of the night.

At the Royal Rumble, Ripley made her main roster debut, eliminating Kacy Catanzaro, Dana Brooke, and Zelina Vega. Sadly, she would be thrown out by Bayley, but the Nightmare definitely made her presence known and showed the WWE Universe a sign of things to come later on in the year.

Back in the UK, Ripley kicked off a feud with the recently signed Piper Niven, attempting to prove that she's the true dominant force in NXT UK. This led to a great series of matches between the two, and also to Ripley's face turn, where she helped save Niven from an attack by Jinny and Jazzy Gabert.

Shortly after, she joined NXT, and quickly set her sights on NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler.

There, Ripley did something that few women were able to do throughout Baszler's two-year run at the top. She put fear in the Queen of Spades. From the word go, Ripley lived inside Baszler's head rent free. Though Baszler escaped their first meeting by forcing Ripley's hand, getting a DQ win, it was clear that Ripley had her number.

Ripley would join the other NXT stars in the war against RAW and SmackDown, even becoming the sole survivor at Survivor Series in the 5-on-5-on-5 Women's elimination match, but not before running through Rhea Ripley's crew at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.

Down two teammates, thanks to the vile actions of Dakota Kai, Ripley was left in a 2-on-4 situation, with only Candice LeRae by her side. Still, the duo were able to overcome the odds, beating Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, and NXT UK Women's Champion Kay Lee Ray.

Cut to December 18th where Rhea Ripley made history. Shayna Baszler's Nightmare came true as she finally lost her championship, making Ripley the first Superstar to hold NXT UK and NXT gold, and the first woman to be the NXT UK Women's Champion and the NXT Women's Champion. The fact that she pulled this off in the same calendar year just made that feat even more impressive.

We're heading into 2020 with a brand new Queen in the throne. What does the new year hold for Ripley? We're not sure yet, but we can be sure that whatever may come, whoever steps up will have to put on an all-star performance to turn the tide against the 23-year-old champion.