WWE Star Rhea Ripley Opens Up About Recurring Body Issue

While she is usually accompanied by her shiny gold title belt in her "WWE Raw" appearances, WWE Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley has recently added another element to her presentation — a hard wrist brace, specifically fitted around her left hand. Naturally, this sight has raised some concerns about Ripley's title defense against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 40. In a new interview with "MMA Hour," Ripley provided some clarification on the status of her wrist injury, assuring fans that the pain was no threat to her upcoming performances.

"[The brace is for] my wrist. It's been bothering me for a while, but it's okay," Ripley said. "It's nothing I can't handle, to be honest. In this kind of work, there's always little bits and pieces going on, so you just fight through it."

Regarding the cause of her injury, Ripley pointed toward the simple "wear and tear" of wrestling for an extensive period of time. "[It happened by] just doing my job. Wear and tear. Just continuously on the road, continuously having matches and doing all these things, and every now and then, something happens, but you just overcome it pretty much. It's been bothering me for a few months, maybe two months now, but I've been in this cast for maybe a week-and-a-half."

Later in the interview, Ripley was greeted with the unexpected arrival of Becky Lynch, who stormed onto the set with fury in her eyes. As crew members promptly separated the two, Lynch informed Ripley that there was now a target on her arm, which "The Man" also soon plans on breaking.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "MMA Hour" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.