10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About Rhea Ripley

6. The One BIG Win

Rhea Ripley Tegan Nox
WWE.com

Either because of a deep-rooted embarrassment that it was all they could take from a cynically-waged war or because WWE themselves have forgotten about it (and let's be totally frank, Vince McMahon never even knew), Rhea Ripley's ultra-cathartic December 18th 2019 NXT Championship victory over Shayna Baszler has been criminally ignored since both made the leap up from the black-and-gold brand.

That remarkable win in front of a white hot Full Sail faithful wasn't just a huge moment for 'The Nightmare', but for losing titleholder Baszler and NXT itself. 'The Queen Of Spades' was as good as done on the brand, and had left on a high with the first (and only) win for the show in the all important key demographics.

As AEW freewheeled, NXT somehow tightened up its focus either side of a chaotic Survivor Series build, resulting in the exact right main event at the exact right time delivering the exact right result. Exactly why, then, has WWE failed to lionise this incredible moment ever since?

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett