10 Things We Learned From Rhea Ripley On Stephanie McMahon's WWE Show
The third episode of Stephanie McMahon's WWE series is her best thanks to Rhea bloody Ripley.
"I'm normally sh**ting a brick beforehand".
That one line will be clipped up and used for memes after the latest Stephanie's Places from WWE and ESPN. Rhea Ripley's true personality came to the fore throughout her sit-down with Steph, but it's a pity the cameras didn't capture McMahon's response to Rhea's candour whilst discussing how her entrance music "snaps [her] into it" every single time before matches.
Regardless of minor missed opportunities, this was a strong episode overall. It might even be the strongest edition of Steph's WWE profile series yet. Interviews with CM Punk and Cody Rhodes were fun, but there's something so immediately relatable about Ripley despite her star power. McMahon maybe said it best when she remarked that Rhea oozes star quality whilst also feeling a little bit fragile.
Ripley has come a long way since being told she'd probs never be a full-time wrestler back home in Australia, but she admits she's still that timid little girl internally. So, she must've been over the moon to hear everyone from Stephanie and Shawn Michaels to Steve Austin and Cody put her over as one of the WWE roster's leading lights in 2025.
McMahon got to the root of Rhea's fascination with wrestling, then explored the time she almost called it quits and headed back home to be with family. Stephanie even found time to perform Ripley's entrance with her, which added an extra layer of fun to the episode.
Here's everything gleaned from an engaging interview. The pair packed a lot into a short space of time!
10. Her First Exposure To Wrestling Was…Wild!
What's your first memory of watching pro wrestling? Some reading will be able to cast minds back to the WWF of the 1980s and conjure up images of Hulkamania running wild, Ricky Steamboat and Randy Savage having that WrestleMania classic and more. Meanwhile, others will be relatively new to the biz but still have fondness in their hearts for the first matches that danced in front of their eyeballs on TV.
Rhea Ripley's introduction was certainly rather unique. She recalled some family friends in Adelaide, Australia recording Survivor Series 2005. They handed young Rhea a copy of it, and she vividly remembers seeing Triple H jam a screwdriver into Ric Flair’s head. “Yo, that’s cool!” was the first thing that came to mind. "I like that". However, Ripley has yet to go Jon Moxley and emulate the moment on WWE screens.
Hunter and Flair worked a ‘Last Man Standing’ bout on that PPV back in '05. It's the first vivid memory Rhea has of sitting down to watch wrestling, and she'll never forget it. Fair enough, she also had to sit through Teddy Long vs. Eric Bischoff, but you can’t win them all. Only joking! Teddy and 'Easy E' didn't actually do too badly, all things considered.
It's interesting that Ripley was immediately drawn to a character like Triple H's. Fast forward to today and she can point to 'The Game' as one of the top reasons why she's been so successful in WWE. She's gone from admiring his sickest spots to calling him boss.
It's funny how things work out.