Rhea Ripley is challenging Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 39.
Ripley, who won the Women’s Royal Rumble Match this past Saturday to earn a title shot, issued the challenge in a promo during Monday’s WWE Raw.
Below is an excerpt from Mike Tedesco’s Raw recap of how it all went down.
Rhea Ripley is introduced to the crowd. Ripley comes out alone and gets in the ring. The crowd is buzzing. Ripley says it’s been a while since she’s been out here without her Latino Heat Dom-Dom and her Judgment Day crew, but she really wanted the attention on her. Two nights ago, she disrupted the status quo. Ripley did the unthinkable and went the distance. She went from No. 1 to outlast 29 other women to win the Royal Rumble match. Now she gets to choose whichever champion she wants to face at WrestleMania.
Ripley looks up at the WrestleMania sign and thinks. Three years ago, she had just turned 24. Her career was just getting started, and she was the NXT Women’s Champion. She came to Monday Night Raw, stood in this ring, and challenged the winner of the Royal Rumble match, Charlotte Flair. She challenged her to a match at WrestleMania. Flair put her in her place. The funny thing about Flair is she’s always somehow in the title picture. Flair is somehow always at the top of her game. Ripley hates to give her credit, but she gets better every year. The normal flow in WWE is that Charlotte Flair is at the top… but she’s the disruptor. She doesn’t like the natural flow, the normal order, and things being overplayed.
Ripley says, “So, Charlotte, I advise you to enjoy everyone rising and bowing down to The Queen because they’re about to rise to Rhea Ripley!” At WrestleMania, she puts Charlotte Flair in her place. Ripley looks into the camera and says, “Charlotte Flair… I choose you.” Ripley’s music plays, and she looks up at the WrestleMania sign once again.
WrestleMania 39 will take place on April 1 and 2 at So-Fi Stadium in Los Angeles, CA.