10 Fascinating Backstage WWE Facts About Rhea Ripley
8. Her Unlikely Childhood Idol
This section will make anybody who remembers the Attitude Era feel incredibly old, so apologies in advance.
As established, Ripley was born in 1996, so she would have been a young kid during the 2000s. This means that her initial influences were not guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin or The Rock, or even Trish Stratus or Lita.
Instead, Rhea cites none other than The Miz as an inspiration.
“I absolutely love him,” she told Revolver in 2019. “He's so snarky and that's who I want to be. I want to have cool comebacks and get people to listen to me and be invested in me.” Thanks to Miz’s longevity, he was still working for WWE when Rhea first arrived on the scene. This has led to some awkward backstage encounters between the two, as the current Women’s World Champion has spoken at length on podcasts and in interviews about her Miz fandom.
“He's never brought it up with me though and I'm terrified for that day because I don't know what I'm gonna say.” she told the Under the Ring podcast.
Hopefully he just says she’s awesome.