Rhea Ripley's Next Challenger For WWE Women's World Championship Determined On Raw
Battle royal to crown a new number one contender yields opportunity for newcomer.
Fresh off defending her WWE Women's World Championship against four women at Crown Jewel, Rhea Ripley learned Monday who her next challenger will be at Survivor Series later this month.
Zoey Stark emerged victorious in a battle royal on Raw, last eliminating Raquel Rodriguez and Shayna Baszler to punch her ticket for her first singles title match on the main roster. She came up short in the five-way title match at Crown Jewel but was not pinned. Stark later confronted Ripley backstage and warned the champ to keep the title warm for her.
STARK. RIPLEY. SURVIVOR SERIES.#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/XdgSmfsNsd
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Stark has had a pretty decent rookie year since being called up in the WWE Draft earlier this spring. After initially faltering in strange backstage segments, she was paired up with Trish Stratus in the Hall-of-Famer's feud with Becky Lynch. The rivalry itself was a disappointment, but Stark got plenty of exposure as Trish's heavy and had a couple competitive matches against Lynch, even beating her once.
Afterward, Stark emerged as a babyface, forming a bit of an alliance with Shayna Baszler built on mutual respect, though they've competed against each other as much as they've teamed up.
As challengers go, Zoey would not be someone fans would put money on winning the big one -- yet. The downside is that there are bigger names out there for Rhea to face in a singles match, like Lynch and Nia Jax. But this could be a great opportunity to put Stark on the map for WWE fans who might not have seen her really shine in NXT.