10 Fascinating Backstage WWE Facts About Rhea Ripley
1. Claudio Castagnoli Helped Her Win A Championship
On the December 18th 2019 episode of NXT, Ripley defeated Shayna Baszler to end her mammoth reign with the NXT Women’s Championship and become the new top dog in the black and gold.
This was vindication for the former NXT UK champion, who had become a massive star on the US brand in a relatively short period of time. This was a truly special moment, one she had a little bit of help in putting together.
The finish of Ripley vs. Baszler saw the challenger hit the champion with a top rope version of her finisher, the Riptide, to score the pin. Rhea was having trouble working out how to do the move off the top when she got some help from current AEW star Claudio Castagnoli, known in WWE as Cesaro.
“My finisher, Riptide, is hard enough to do in the ring, let alone on two little ropes,” she told Sports Illustrated. “We were at the PC struggling with it and he [Cesaro] came out of nowhere to help.”
Does that make Ripley a satellite member of the Blackpool Combat Club?