5 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE Raw (7 Nov)

2. Ripley Shines Backstage

Despite wrestling only one televised match in the past five months, Rhea Ripley has become a major force on WWE programming and a central figure in Judgment Day.

And Monday, she looked like the unquestionable leader of the group, calm, cool and collected as the guys fumed about Mia Yim returning to even the odds.

Ripley scoffed at the OC bringing in Yim to counteract her, suggesting they could “bring in the whole damn army” and it wouldn’t make a lick of difference. As she put it, “no one compares to me.”

And then to put a visual in fans’ heads, she walked into Bianca Belair and simply called her “champ” as they looked each other up and down. A Raw Women’s Championship match between those two at the Royal Rumble or *gasp* WrestleMania could be in the cards, and judging from the fans’ reaction, this could be a really good one.

Just simply a fantastic night for Ripley, who has done more to elevate herself without wrestling on Raw since June than anyone could have imagined.