Rhea Ripley To Face WWE Raw Women's Champion Asuka At WrestleMania 37
Scoring a Raw Women's Title shot on your Raw debut? Not bad, Rhea Ripley...
Rhea Ripley will challenge for Asuka's Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37.
This was confirmed during last night's show, on which the former NXT Women's Champion made her advertised debut.
Ripley showed up after Asuka had defeated Peyton Royce in a non-title contest. Calling Asuka one of the greatest champions in WWE history, she acknowledged that Charlotte Flair had previously challenged The Empress of Tomorrow for a WrestleMania 37 title fight, but pointed out that she wasn't there due to her positive COVID-19 test. Rhea then threw down the gauntlet, with Asuka happy to accept.
Asuka and Ripley have only ever shared a ring in the 15-woman Survivor Series match pitting Raw, SmackDown, and NXT against each other at the 2019 event. This is a first-time-ever singles match.
Weekly vignettes had hyped Ripley's imminent Raw arrival prior to last night. She made a big impact at Royal Rumble 2021 in January, fighting her way to the final two before Bianca Belair threw her out.
Rather than featuring on Raw, Flair is now expected to return on this week's episode of SmackDown. Her WrestleMania 37 plans appear to be up in the air at the moment, as the SmackDown Women's Title will be contested by champion Sasha Banks and Belair on 10 April.