Rhea Ripley Hates This Stereotype

Speaking with Fox Sports Australia, WWE Superstar Rhea Ripley minced no words when discussing critics who think she looks "too masculine" or that she should grow her hair long again. "The whole thing is women should have long hair. I hate that stereotype," said Ripley. "I hate when men say grow your hair out. No. This is my body, this is my choice. I do whatever the hell I want with my body and you can't tell me what to do because I love myself. I don't really care if you don't love me."

Having the platform she does, Ripley is "proud and happy" she can help inspire others to grow their self-confidence just by being seen on television. "That's so strong and I love when I get tagged in photos of women and they've cut their hair in the same way because 'Rhea I found the confidence to cut my hair,' that's just insane to me," Ripley stated.

The way fans today look up to and are inspired by Ripley is reminiscent of how a younger Ripley viewed WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix. "Growing up, I looked at people like Beth Phoenix. She was different, she was built different, big beefy and she had muscles and she was going out there and obliterating anyone in her path. That's someone I looked up to." That admiration has led Ripley to transforming her body in the gym over the last several years into what she describes as a "weapon of mass destruction."

Ripley hopes her transformation, both professionally and personally, proves "to everyone that they should be comfortable in their own skin and not care about what people think or say about them as long as they're happy within themselves and surround themselves with the right people, I think that's really special."