Rhea Ripley Has Truly Evolved As A Member Of The Judgement Day
At only 26 years old, "WWE Raw" superstar Rhea Ripley has accomplished feats and experienced moments in the ring most people can only dream about. She has performed at WrestleMania and won the Women's Tag tiles, as well as the "NXT UK," "NXT," and "Raw" Women's Championships. Furthermore, she proved she can stay in a relevant spot even when taking a five-month hiatus from in-ring action. But those things didn't necessarily come easy for the Australian-born Superstar. At certain points early on in her WWE career, Ripley didn't feel confident about the work she was putting out and even claimed she was put "on the chopping block" to be cut on a couple of occasions.
Ripley's career in pro wrestling started back in June 2013, appearing with indie promotions Riot City Wrestling and New Horizons Pro Wrestling in Australia. She earned herself a WWE developmental contract in 2017, with her first official appearance for the company being at the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament that July. She was successful in the first round with a victory over Miranda Salinas, only to be defeated at the hands of Dakota Kai in round two. She didn't appear on television again until October of that year when she participated in a battle royal to determine who would challenge for the "NXT" Women's Championship at an upcoming TakeOver event. Ripley notes that it was during this transitional period that she felt herself starting to falter.
Ripley's Path To Judgment Day
In an appearance on "Mark Andrews: My Love Letter To Wrestling" earlier this year, Ripley opened up about the downtime between the 2017 and 2018 Mae Young Classic tournaments inspired her to change her mindset. "I went through a lot mentally behind the scenes. I was having troubles at home; I was having troubles at work. I hated myself, just like, very mentally weak at that point of time. I just didn't think I was good enough. I was constantly being told I wasn't good enough and I had to do something to improve it ... I sort of, I want to say, at that sixth month period, I was just like, 'You know what? Snuff this. I don't care what anybody thinks about me.'"
Ripley's courageous shift into the version we know today would forever change WWE. Along with her growing list of accomplishments, in recent months, Ripley has reached a new level of stardom as a member of The Judgment Day faction alongside Finn Balor, Damian Priest, and Dominik Mysterio. The role has allowed Ripley to show off her heel side -– something she has excelled at arguably better than anyone else in the group. Some pundits have even compared her to WWE Hall of Famer Chyna due to her physical prowess, threatening presence, and fearlessness to tussle with the men. We are witnessing an exciting phase in Ripley's career, and it can only go up from here.