10 WWE Stars Who Have Gone Backwards In 2020

3. Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley
WWE.com

Rhea Ripley started the year as NXT Women's Champion, and had everything going for her. WWE's decision-makers took full notice and decided to give Rhea a featured spot against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36 in the spring. That, strangely, would prove to be a negative turning point for her career.

Ripley dropped her belt to Flair at 'Mania, looking rather second-rate in the process, and then took some time off due to visa issues. When she returned, Rhea slid right back into the challenger role, but came up short when WWE crowned Io Shirai the new champ at TakeOver: In Your House.

Since then, she's been involved in a nothing feud with Robert Stone and his clients. Ripley is another NXT stand out who badly needs to sink her teeth into something new on Raw or SmackDown. She could be the biggest female worker on the planet if WWE utilise her correctly.

Key word there is "if".

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.