Rhea Ripley And Becky Lynch Throw Hands Following Passionate Promo Segment On WWE Raw
Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley's upcoming match for the WWE Women's World Championship at WrestleMania 40 has been full of tense staredowns, but not many physical altercations. That changed Monday night on "WWE Raw," when a heated conversation between the challenger and champion exploded into a full-on brawl.
Ripley took to the microphone first to taunt her WrestleMania opponent. Ripley commented on the lack of attention she's been receiving from Lynch, and referred to herself as "respectful" for not actively seeking "The Man" out after her matches. Ripley then offered the microphone to Mysterio, who was barely able to finish Lynch's name before Lynch herself came out.
Lynch mentioned Ripley's general in-ring inactivity, and cited it as the reason she had not been able to confront the champion. Ripley dismissed Lynch's concerns, and claimed that she only needed to post on social media to get the attention Lynch would otherwise have to turn to matches for. Lynch outlined the differences in their definitions of "champion", with Ripley's being mainly superficial, and Lynch's being the result of hard work.
Tensions flared further when Ripley invoked Lynch's daughter. After comparing Lynch to a cockroach — hard to kill, but not impossible — Ripley expressed a desire to leave Lynch just alive enough for her to watch her daughter call Ripley "mommy," a play on "Mami". Enraged and emotional, Lynch noted that while her father, who passed away in March 2021, never met her daughter, he would be proud of Lynch's parenting. She denounced Ripley's alleged respectfulness, and things became unglued shortly after.
Lynch struck first not at Ripley, but at Mysterio. This aggravated Ripley, who began an all-out assault against Lynch. Mysterio and Ripley attempted to leave the ring, but Lynch jumped off the steel steps to pummel both Mysterio and Ripley to the ground. The two women brawled up the ramp until they were separated by several WWE officials and Mysterio himself.
Lynch and Ripley are expected to clash at WrestleMania 40 for the WWE Women's World Championship. Lynch secured her WrestleMania opportunity after winning her first match in the Elimination Chamber back in February. As of writing, Ripley has held the WWE Women's World Championship for 357 days.