When Rhea Ripley claimed ex-WWE star was her girlfriend after flirting with her in public

Former WWE Women's Champion Rhea Ripley has undoubtedly emerged as one of the top stars of the Stamford-based promotion in recent years. Mami started to gain traction after she joined The Judgment Day, and fans loved her on-screen romance with Dominik Mysterio.

While The Nightmare is married to AEW star Buddy Matthews, she has been linked to multiple stars in the past. Many might have forgotten that Rhea Ripley once called former RAW announcer Samantha Irvin her girlfriend. In 2023, during a live event in Liverpool, Ripley had a flirtatious interaction with Irvin.

Ripley even blew a flying kiss at Irvin at ringside, and WWE captured the moment on camera. On her official X/Twitter account, Mami shared the video and informed Cathy Kelley that the former ring announcer was now her girlfriend.

"Sorry @catherinekelley, @SamanthaTheBomb is my GF now," Ripley wrote.

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You can view the interaction below.

Fans must note that Ripley, Irvin, and Kelley are friends in real life. They often send lighthearted messages to each other on social media.

Rhea Ripley is set to compete in a major WWE match

The Stamford-based promotion's next big premium live event, Crown Jewel: Perth, is set to air on Saturday. Ripley will get a chance to wrestle in front of her home crowd after a long time.

Mami is all set to compete in a tag team match alongside IYO SKY against The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane). The Empress of Tomorrow has been trying to get under SKY and Ripley's skin. Now, the former champions have decided to tackle the Japanese duo together, and things are bound to get chaotic.

With the hype train behind the tag team bout, it will be interesting to see which squad reigns supreme at Crown Jewel. The show will emanate from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, and promises to be a memorable affair.

About the author

Nayan is a WWE News and Features writer at Sportskeeda Wrestling. After completing his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from Poddar International, he began working as a YouTube script writer. Nayan then transitioned to Pinkvilla as a combat sports writer. He gained valuable experience there before finally coming under the banner of Sportskeeda.

Within 1.5 years, Nayan has written over 1,000 articles, interviewed MFN promotion owners, and conducted a Twitter campaign that gained over 50k retweets and more. He puts fact-checking and mindful journalism above everything by applying a three-check method, where he tries to verify reports from reliable sources and cross-check whether other major publications have covered them.

Looking back at his association with pro wrestling, Nayan recalls being hooked on the sport after watching Shawn Michael vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25. Since then, the product has been an inseparable part of his life.

Apart from The Heartbreak Kid being Nayan's favorite wrestler for his confidence and charisma, he is also a fan of Brock Lesnar due to The Beast's "work speaks louder than words" attitude.

Nayan can be found performing mixed martial arts and reading true crime in his free time.

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Edited by Pratik Singh