Rhea Ripley Recalls Her Initial Reaction To Being Paired With Nikki A.S.H.
WWE Women's Tag Team Champion Rhea Ripley spoke with Scott Fishman of TV Insider about tagging alongside Nikki A.S.H. and what she thinks of NXT 2.0.
Even though they are now the current champions, when the two first paired up as a team Ripley admitted she wasn't sure how they'd click.
"At first I was a little bit standoffish," Ripley said. "But she is growing on me. She is such a good person, warm-hearted and positive. Sometimes you just need someone like that behind you, especially when you're someone like me who just goes out there and brutalizes people. Sometimes I need to calm down a little bit, so I'm glad to have Nikki by my side.
"To be honest, I'm having the time of my life right now in this tag team. It's a lot of fun. I do miss singles competition and do love it, but there are always times for a change. Right now, I think the fact we won the women's tag team championship is truly incredible. And to do it with someone like Nikki and was in NXT when I first started. I really looked up to her. To hold these titles with her is truly extraordinary."
Moving on from its darker atmosphere, NXT 2.0 is very much now a colorful, lighter brand that WWE is looking to push with its developmental stars. Ripley gave her thoughts on the major changes in presentation for the brand over the past couple weeks.
"I actually really enjoyed it," Ripley stated. "I was a little bit skeptical, but I like the metal setting and all that. I was worried about the color. I walked into the building before the show went on and had a good look around. It was so epic to see in person. Seeing it on TV is really cool, but seeing it in person was a step more.
"Seeing the talent who have come out of the Performance Center the last six months. People I don't even know. They've all been working so hard. Watching the show I thoroughly enjoyed it. Just seeing the people improve who I did know at NXT. Seeing the new faces. It's a nice change. It was something that was somewhat needed as well. I do miss the black and gold and grungy vibe. But I think this is a good move with NXT."
On this past Friday's SmackDown, it was night one of the WWE Draft where both Ripley and A.S.H. were officially kept on RAW. Since they are the current champions, they are able to move freely among the brands.