IYO SKY Wins Women's World Championship On Raw, Dethrones Rhea Ripley (WWE News)

IYO SKY is the new WWE Women's World Champion, having dethroned Rhea Ripley on last night's episode of Raw.

SKY bested Ripley in a 19-minute main event, profiting from Rhea taking her eye off the ball to talk smack to women's Elimination Chamber winner Bianca Belair, who was at ringside. "Said you at 'Mania", said Ripley to Belair, while preparing to hit SKY with an avalanche Riptide. This lapse allowed IYO to hit a Hurricanrana off the top rope, then a Moonsault for the victory.

This is SKY's first reign as WWE Women's World Champion, though she held the old WWE Women's Championship for 246 days in 2023 and 2024. It is her sixth WWE title reign in total, having previously held the Women's Tag Team Championships (twice, with Dakota Kai), NXT Women's Tag Team Championships (with Zoey Stark), and NXT Women's Championship.

Ripley's second reign as Women's World Champion ended after just 56 days and one successful defence vs. Nia Jax on Saturday Night's Main Event #38 (25 January 2025). 'The Eradicator' had won the belt from rival Liv Morgan on Raw's 6 January Netflix premiere, seemingly putting a bow on their long-running feud surrounding The Judgment Day stable and Dominik Mysterio.

Will Rhea Ripley Miss WWE WrestleMania 41?

With the defeat to IYO SKY, big questions are now being asked over Rhea Ripley's WrestleMania 41 status.

If Rhea had defeated SKY on Raw, she would have advanced to face Belair on 19 or 20 April in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bianca earned her right to challenge by winning 1 March's women's Elimination Chamber, where she outlasted Alexa Bliss, Bayley, Liv Morgan, Naomi, and Roxanne Perez. WWE has now announced SKY vs. Belair for the biggest WWE premium live event of 2025.

IYO SKY is going to #WrestleMania as the Women's World Champion! pic.twitter.com/iq97ADYASe— WWE (@WWE) March 4, 2025

But this doesn't necessarily mean Ripley's WrestleMania dream is dead.

WWE has lightly teased Belair vs. Ripley several times over the years, featuring the duo in several short confrontations without pulling the trigger on what would be their first singles match since February 2020. At Elimination Chamber, the promotion hinted at a SKY/Ripley/Belair Triple Threat by positioning IYO between Biance and Rhea during their post-Chamber face-off.

On top of this, SKY vs. Ripley vs. Belair had been heavily rumoured for 'Mania before last night's Women's World Championship match. It's entirely possible that WWE could still manoeuvre the wrestlers towards this ahead of the big event.

Beyond title concerns, Bianca is also deeply involved in a SmackDown storyline with Naomi and Jade Cargill. Cargill returned to WWE after three months at Elimination Chamber, attacking (former?) ally Naomi at the beginning of the titular women's bout, leaving Belair distraught. The trio had been aligned as the Big Three on SmackDown, with Naomi taking Cargill's spot as Women's Tag Team Champion while Jade was injured, following a mystery assault angle in November. While Naomi hasn't been outright outed as the attacker, it's clear where Cargill's suspicions lie.