5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE Raw (25 Dec - Results & Review)

UPS…

5. Ripley Rules Women’s Division

Rhea Ripley
WWE.com

If you were to summarize Rhea Ripley’s 2023 and act like was a sampler rather than a thorough review, fans would think she defeated all comers and put the entire women’s division in its place.

That wasn’t quite the case. Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair in a celebrated WrestleMania 39 match that was rightly highlighted on Monday’s program, then went on to defend the title periodically throughout the year, ruling over an unfocused division that had several side feuds such as Becky Lynch’s travails, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler, and the women’s tag titles.

But the Raw recap Monday night did a decent job of summing up her strength as the focal point of the division – which came mainly through her role with the Judgment Day. Her promo blew past the lack of title defenses to point out that she had overcome all challengers and was sizing up her next one for Day One Raw, Ivy Nile.

Ripley continues to be someone whose aura and presence overwhelms any shortcomings with booking her as a fighting champion.

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Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.