In addition to the NXT UK Women's Championship and NXT Women's Championship, she is a formerone-timeWWE Women's Tag Team Champion (withNikki A.S.H.). After winning the SmackDown Women's Championship in April 2023—which was renamed as Women's World Championship that June—she became the seventhWWE Women's Triple Crown Champion and fifthWWE Women's Grand Slam Champion, as well as the only wrestler to have held all five of these titles. She is also the first female Australian champion in WWE history. Ripley was the2023 Women's Royal Rumble winner, becoming the fourth wrestler and the first woman to win aRoyal Rumble match as the number one entrant.
Early life
Demi Bennett was born on 11 October 1996 inAdelaide, South Australia.[3][5] She is of Italian descent through her mother's side.[6] Bennett grew up in the beachside Adelaide suburb ofGlenelg and attendedHenley High School throughout her teenage years.[7]
Bennett debuted inRiot City Wrestling on 22 June 2013 at the age of 16.[8] She spent several years in the promotion, where she became a two-time RCW Women's Champion.[5] Bennett made her New Horizon Pro Wrestling debut on 24 May 2014 during the opening night of the NHPW Global Conflict where she joined the Global Conflict Tournament. She was eliminated during the first round of the tournament byMercedes Martinez.[9] She returned for the second night of the NHPW Global Conflict event, competing in a four-way mixed tag team match paired with Garry Schmidt.[9] Six months later, Bennett was part of the opening night of the NHPW Final Chapter event, wrestling a four-way match againstMadison Eagles,Evie andSaraya Knight for the vacant IndyGurlz Australia Championship, but was unsuccessful.[9]
Bennett made herMelbourne City Wrestling debut on 14 June 2014 at MCW New Horizons where she defended the RCW Women's Championship in a three-way match against Savannah Summers andToni Storm.[10] On 9 August at MCW Clash Of The Titans, Bennett defeated Miami to retain her championship.[11] On 22 April 2017, Bennett wrestled her last RCW match at RCW Strength where she successfully defended the title against Kellyanne.[12]
In 2017, Bennett signed with WWE, and it was announced that she would compete in theinaugural Mae Young Classic under the new name "Rhea Ripley".[14] Bennett came up with the ring name while mixing and matching possible names, settling on Rhea fromthe Greek goddess of the same name, and Ripley afterEllen Ripley from theAlien film franchise.[15] She defeated Miranda Salinas in the first round but lost toDakota Kai in the second round.[16][17] Ripley made her NXT television debut on 25 October 2017 episode ofNXT, participating in a battle royal to determine one of the contenders for the vacantNXT Women's Championship atTakeOver: WarGames on 18 November, which was won byNikki Cross.[18] Sporting a new look, Ripley competed in the2018 Mae Young Classic, displaying a new aggressive and disrespectful attitude. She defeatedMJ Jenkins,Kacy Catanzaro, andTegan Nox in her first three matches but lost toIo Shirai in the semi-finals.[19][20]
Inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion (2018–2019)
Ripley in April 2019
Shortly after the 2018 Mae Young Classic, Ripley became part of theNXT UKbrand as part of the premiere of the newly createdNXT UK show.During thetelevision tapings of the show in August (that aired throughout November), Ripley took part in an eight-woman tournament to determine the inauguralNXT UK Women's Champion.[21] She defeatedXia Brookside in the first round,Dakota Kai in the semi-finals, andToni Storm in the finals to become the inaugural champion.[22][23][24][25] With the win, Ripley became the first female Australian champion in WWE history and the second Australian champion afterBuddy Murphy.[26] Ripley also competed in adark match before the first ever all women's pay–per–view,Evolution, on 28 October, where she successfully defended her title against Kai (due to the tournament having yet to air at the time, she was not yet recognized on-screen as champion).[27] Throughout her reign, Ripley went on to fend off title contenders such asIsla Dawn andDeonna Purrazzo.[28][29]
On 12 January 2019 atNXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool, Ripley lost the title to Storm, ending her reign at 139 days and marking her first defeat in the brand.[30] AtRoyal Rumble on 27 January, Ripley made her first appearance on a main roster pay-per-view by entering the women'sRoyal Rumble match at number 24, eliminating Kacy Catanzaro,Dana Brooke, andZelina Vega before being eliminated byBayley.[31] Afterwards, Ripley feuded with the debutingPiper Niven for the remainder of the year over which one was the most dominant woman in the NXT UK roster. The two traded victories with each other before teaming up after Ripley saved Niven from an attack byJazzy Gabert andJinny, whom they defeated in a tag team match on 4 October.[32][33][34] Ripley wrestled her last match in the brand on 5 October 2019 tapings ofNXT UK, defeating Nina Samuels.[35]
NXT Women's Champion (2019–2021)
Ripley performing her signature hand gesture in September 2019
On 28 August 2019 episode ofNXT, Ripley made her surprise return to the brand when she interruptedNXT Women's ChampionShayna Baszler, stating that Baszler may have beaten everyone on NXT, but not her, turningface and beginning a feud between the two in the process.[36] In parallel to her feud against Baszler, on 1 November episode ofSmackDown, Ripley andTegan Nox were one of the manyNXT wrestlers to invade the show, challengingMandy Rose andSonya Deville to a tag team match which Ripley and Nox won. Later that night, Ripley joinedTriple H and the rest of theNXT roster as they declared war on bothRaw andSmackDown, and vowed to win the2019 Survivor Series brand warfare.[37] As part of the ongoing storyline, she defeated both Raw'sCharlotte Flair and SmackDown'sSasha Banks in atriple threat match on 22 November episode ofSmackDown.[38]
AtTakeOver: WarGames on 23 November, Ripley led Team Ripley in the first ever women'sWarGames match against Team Baszler (Baszler,Io Shirai,Bianca Belair, andNXT UK Women's ChampionKay Lee Ray); despite teammateDakota Kai turning heel and attacking Nox before the two entered the match, leaving Ripley andCandice LeRae in ade facto two-on-fourhandicap match, Ripley gave her team the victory by pinning Baszler.[39] The following night at Survivor Series, Ripley was part of Team NXT, who defeated Team Raw and Team SmackDown, and the leader of her team in the 5-on-5-on-5 women'selimination match, which her team won after she last eliminated SmackDown captain Sasha Banks, with she, LeRae and Shirai as the survivors.[40]
On 18 December episode ofNXT, Ripley defeated Baszler to win theNXT Women's Championship, making her the first person to have won both the NXT Women's and NXT UK Women's Championships.[41][42] She then successfully defended the title againstToni Storm on 25 January 2020 atWorlds Collide.[43]
Ripley appeared on 3 February 2020 episode ofRaw, confrontingRoyal Rumble winnerCharlotte Flair and suggesting that Flair should use her Royal Rumble title opportunity to challenge Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship atWrestleMania 36.[38] Flair appeared on the following episode ofNXT to give her answer, but was interrupted by both Bianca Belair and Ripley, with the two attacking Flair.[44] AtTakeOver: Portland on 16 February, Ripley successfully defended the title against Belair; after the match she was attacked by Flair, who accepted Ripley's challenge.[45] Ripley lost the title to Flair on Night 2 of WrestleMania 36 on 5 April, after which she took a hiatus from WWE and returned to Australia due to her visa issues.[46][47] Ripley returned on 6 May episode ofNXT, attacking Flair after she got herself disqualified in an NXT Women's Championship match against Shirai.[48] On 7 June atTakeOver: In Your House, Ripley and Flair both lost to Shirai in a triple threat match for the NXT Women's Championship.[49] Ripley also failed to win the title from Shirai on 18 November episode ofNXT.[50]
On 22 February episode ofRaw, a video package aired hyping up Ripley's arrival to the brand.[55] Ripley made her main roster debut on 22 March episode ofRaw, challengingAsuka for theRaw Women's Championship atWrestleMania 37.[56][57] At Night 2 of WrestleMania 37 on 11 April, Ripley defeated Asuka to win the title.[58] On the following episode ofRaw, Ripley defended the title in a rematch against Asuka, which ended in a no-contest after interference from Charlotte Flair, who attacked both Asuka and Ripley.[59] On 3 May episode ofRaw, a rematch between Ripley and Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship was scheduled forWrestleMania Backlash on 16 May, but WWE officialSonya Deville added Flair to the match to make it a triple threat match; Ripley retained the title by pinning Asuka.[60][61] AtHell in a Cell on 20 June, Flair defeated Ripley bydisqualification, thus Ripley retained her title.[62] AtMoney in the Bank on 18 July, Ripley dropped the title to Flair, ending her reign at 98 days.[63] She failed to regain the title in a triple threat match against the championNikki A. S. H. and Flair atSummerSlam on 21 August.[64]
On 20 September episode ofRaw, Ripley and A. S. H. defeatedNatalya andTamina to win theWWE Women's Tag Team Championship.[65] They successfully defended the titles in a rematch on 4 October episode ofRaw[66] before losing them toCarmella andQueen Zelina on 22 November episode ofRaw, ending their reign at 63 days.[67] Their partnership ended on 10 January 2022 episode ofRaw when A. S. H. attacked Ripley.[68] AtRoyal Rumble on 29 January, Ripley entered at number 16, eliminating Zelina, Carmella, andIvory before being eliminated by Flair.[69] She then competed in the women'sElimination Chamber match at thetitular event on 19 February, eliminating A. S. H. before being eliminated by Belair.[70]
AtWrestleMania Backlash on 8 May, Ripley costAJ Styles his match againstEdge and was revealed as a member ofThe Judgment Day.[74] AtHell in a Cell on 5 June, The Judgment Day (Edge,Damian Priest, and Ripley) defeated Styles,Finn Bálor, andLiv Morgan in asix-person mixed tag team match.[75] The next night onRaw, Edge introduced Bálor as the newest member of The Judgment Day; Bálor, Priest, and Ripley suddenly attacked Edge, kicking him out of the stable.[76] Later that night, Ripley won a fatal four-way match to become the number one contender forBianca Belair's Raw Women's Championship atMoney in the Bank on 2 July.[77][78] However, she was pulled out of the match after being not medically cleared to compete and was replaced by Carmella.[79]
The stable feuded withthe Mysterios (Rey andDominik) in an attempt to recruit Dominik into their ranks.[80][81][82] After Dominik turned heel atClash at the Castle on 3 September by attacking Edge and Rey, joining The Judgment Day, he took on a gimmick mirroringEddie Guerrero's Latino Heat while together with Ripley, with Ripley calling herself Dominik's "Mami".[83] On 8 October, atExtreme Rules, Dominik, Priest, and Ripley helped Bálor defeat Edge in an"I Quit" match. After the match, Ripley attacked Edge's wife,Beth Phoenix, with a con-chair-to.[84] During the stable's feud withThe O.C. (Styles,Luke Gallows, andKarl Anderson), The O.C. introduced the returningMia Yim as their solution to counter Ripley.[85] Ripley would temporarily ally herself withDamage CTRL in the leadup toSurvivor Series WarGames on 26 November after Yim had joined the opposing team, but Ripley's team lost to Yim's team in a WarGames match afterBecky Lynch pinnedDakota Kai.[86][87] On the following episode ofRaw, The Judgment Day defeated The O.C. in an eight-person mixed tag team match, ending their feud.[88]
At theRoyal Rumble on 28 January 2023, Ripley appeared at ringside during the men'sRoyal Rumble match to assist her stablemates in their attack on Edge, only to be speared by Phoenix. Later that night, Ripley won the women's Royal Rumble match as the first entrant by last eliminatingLiv Morgan, who entered the match at number 2. With this victory, Ripley became the fourth wrestler (afterShawn Michaels in 1995,Chris Benoit in 2004, and Edge in 2021) and the first woman to win the Royal Rumble as the first entrant. She also spent the longest time in a women's Royal Rumble match at 1:01:08; Morgan was officially recorded as lasting one second less.[89] On the following episode ofRaw, Ripley declared that she would challengeCharlotte Flair for theSmackDown Women's Championship atWrestleMania 39.[90] On Night 1 of WrestleMania 39 on 1 April, Ripley defeated Flair to win the title. With this win, Ripley became the seventhWomen's Triple Crown champion, the fifthWomen's Grand Slam champion, and the youngestgrand slam champion (male or female) in WWE history at 26.[91]
AtBacklash on 6 May, Ripley successfully defended the SmackDown Women's Championship in her first title defense againstZelina Vega.[92] AtNight of Champions on 27 May, Ripley retained the title againstNatalya in asquash match that lasted 70 seconds.[93] On 12 June episode ofRaw, the SmackDown Women's Championship was renamed to the Women's World Championship and Ripley was presented a brand-new championship belt.[94] On 3 July episode ofRaw, Ripley defeated Natalya once again to retain the title.[95] AtPayback on 2 September, Ripley helped Bálor and Priest win theUndisputed WWE Tag Team Championship after spearingKevin Owens through the barricade. Later that night, Ripley retained her title againstRaquel Rodriguez after a distraction from Dominik.[96] On 11 September episode ofRaw, Ripley defeated Rodriguez in a rematch to retain the title after interference from the returningNia Jax, who attacked Ripley after the match.[97] AtCrown Jewel on 4 November, Ripley defeated Jax, Rodriguez,Zoey Stark andShayna Baszler, who Ripley pinned, to retain her title in afatal five-way match.[98] AtSurvivor Series WarGames on 25 November, Ripley defeated Stark to retain her title.[99]
AtDay 1 on 1 January 2024, Ripley defeatedIvy Nile to retain the title.[100] On 24 February, atElimination Chamber: Perth in her home country of Australia, Ripley successfully defended her title against Jax in the main event.[101] On Night 1 ofWrestleMania XL on 6 April, Ripley defeated Becky Lynch to retain the title.[102]
Feud with Liv Morgan and Judgment Day's betrayal (2024–2025)
On 8 April episode ofRaw, Ripley was attacked in a backstage segment by Liv Morgan, during which Ripley legitimately injured her right arm and was forced to vacate the championship the following week, ending her reign at 380 days, tyingBayley's record as the longest-reigning Women's World Champion.[103][104] During Ripley's absence, the storyline continued when Morgan began seducing Dominik, who resisted Morgan's efforts, but accidentally helped her win the Women's World Championship from Lynch atKing and Queen of the Ring.[105] Morgan also began interfering in The Judgment Day's matches to their advantage.[106] After a three-month hiatus, Ripley returned on 8 July episode ofRaw, confronting Morgan and Dominik.[107]
AtSummerSlam on 3 August, Ripley was unsuccessful in regaining the title from Morgan after interference from Dominik, giving Ripley her first pinfall loss since May 2022. After the match, Dominik turned on Ripley and kissed Morgan, ending their partnership and fully turning Ripleyface.[108] On the following episode ofRaw, Bálor officially kicked Priest and Ripley out of the group, and followed up with the introduction of the "new" Judgment Day, consisting of himself, Dominik,JD McDonagh, and the new additions of bothCarlito (who became an associate member of the group during Ripley's hiatus now an official member) and Morgan. Later that night, during Priest's match against McDonagh, he was ambushed by Bálor and the rest of The Judgment Day, until Ripley came out to save him. Priest and Ripley would afterwards embrace each other, staying together as a team and going by their unofficial tag team name,The Terror Twins.[109] AtBash in Berlin on 31 August, Ripley and Priest defeated Mysterio and Morgan despite interference from The Judgment Day, with Ripley pinning Morgan.[110] AtBad Blood on 5 October, Ripley defeated Morgan by disqualification after being attacked by the returningRaquel Rodriguez. However, since championships do not change hands via disqualification or countout unless otherwise stipulated, Morgan remained champion.[111]
On 29 October episode ofNXT, Ripley was attacked by Morgan and Rodriguez in theWWE Performance Center parking lot.[112] This was reportedly done to write her off television due to a legitimate orbital bone injury suffered the previous week; the injury was announced by WWE the next day and attributed in storyline to the attack.[113][114] On 18 November episode ofRaw, Ripley made a surprise return wearing a protective face shield, challenging the opposition to aWarGames match.[115] AtSurvivor Series WarGames on 30 November, Ripley, Bianca Belair,Bayley,Iyo Sky andNaomi defeated Morgan, Rodriguez, Nia Jax,Tiffany Stratton andCandice LeRae in a WarGames match, with Ripley pinning Morgan.[116]
At theRaw premiere on Netflix on 6 January 2025, Ripley defeated Morgan to win the Women's World Championship for the second time despite interference from Dominik and Rodriguez, ending their feud.[117] AtSaturday Night's Main Event on 25 January, Ripley defeated Jax to retain the title.[118] On 3 March episode ofRaw, Ripley lost the title to Sky after being distracted by the Elimination Chamber match winner Belair, ending her second reign at 56 days.[119] On 31 March episode ofRaw, Ripley unsuccessfully challenged Sky for the title in a rematch with Belair as the special guest referee, but the match ended in a double disqualification. On Night 2 ofWrestleMania 41, Ripley failed to regain the title from Sky in a critically acclaimedtriple threat match also involving Belair, whom Sky pinned.[120]Dave Meltzer of theWrestling Observer Newsletter rated the matchfive stars, making it the first women’s match in WWE history to receive such a rating.[121]
On 19 May episode ofRaw, Ripley defeatedKairi Sane andZoey Stark in a triple threat match to qualify for the women’sMoney in the Bank ladder match at thenamesake event,[122] which was won byNaomi.[123] AtEvolution on 13 July, Ripley failed to win the title from Sky after Naomi successfully cashed in her Money in the Bank briefcase late in the match.[124] On Night 2 ofSummerSlam on 3 August, Ripley challenged Naomi for the title in a triple threat match also involving Sky in a losing effort.[125]
As of 2022, she has been in a relationship with fellow Australian wrestler Matthew Adams, known professionally asBuddy Matthews.[138] In August 2023, Bennett and Adams got engaged, and in June 2024, they married.[139][140]
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