Rhea Ripley reveals intergender wrestling goal and how Triple H saved the Judgement Day
In an exclusive interview, Rhea Ripley discusses her WWE run ahead of Money in the Bank
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Your support makes all the difference.Rhea Ripley and the Judgement Day are breathing rarefied air in WWE.
The villainous faction, which sees Ripley stand alongside Finn Balor, Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio, are booed out of almost every building they step into.
Few stars in wrestling today draw such a reaction from the crowd and the group show no signs of slowing down, especially with the WWE Women's World Champion at the helm.
And it's fair to say Ripley is loving every minute of the ride.
"I'm having the best time of my life. It's honestly so much fun going out there with the boys and just running amok, causing some chaos and mayhem," she told the Independent.
"I've done all these really cool things, but I haven't been out there with the men until now. It's something different. I love every single second of it. I love the Judgment Day and I'm going to do everything I can to keep us going together for a very, very long time."
It's often said in professional wrestling that drawing a reaction from the crowd - good or bad - is one of the most important aspects of the performance, and that's something Ripley and Mysterio appear to have already mastered so early in their careers.
Right now, it seems the pair have nuclear "heat" with WWE fans and they cause quite the stir when they step into the ring.
"When we go out there, the feeling, atmosphere and the electricity that we get from the fans, especially when Dom's out there is a whole different level," Ripley explained.
"I have never experienced the crowd being so loud and so adamant with booing someone. When Dom tries to talk, it's honestly so deafening, I can't even hear him most of the time and he's speaking on a microphone right next to me. So I think in that aspect Dom gets the loudest reaction out of anyone in wrestling today, which is really, really cool.
"Our contrast is, when I go out there, I get chants, I get cheers. But as soon as I talk about 'My Latino Heat, my Dom', it turns to boos instantly. It's just really cool to see the rollercoaster of emotions that the fans feel when both of us are out there together, because they want to cheer me, but then they really want to put Dom down. So it's a lot of fun to play with their emotions."
Ripley talks highly of "going out there with the boys" and given that she operates so closely with the men's roster, there is the suggestion that it's only a matter of time until she steps in the ring for a match with one of WWE's top male stars.
Last December, she wrestled Akira Tozawa in an intergender match, beating him in less than five minutes. Bouts between men and women are rare in WWE, but should the opportunity arise again, Ripley is ready to take it.
"It's something that I would love to do. I've always loved wrestling absolutely anybody, so I would love to do some intergender wrestling. I think that if anyone was made for it, it would be me," she said.
"But I honestly don't know what we're allowed to do in this company and what the limitations are. Right now I'm just waiting for someone to step up and be confident.
"Seth [Rollins] said something the other day. I got tagged in a bunch of stuff. If he's calling me out, I'll step in the ring with Seth. I'll step in the ring with Solo Sikoa. I'll step in the ring with AJ Styles, Edge, or Rey Mysterio."
Seeing Ripley face any one of those stars would not be a surprise, and that is testament to how far the Judgement Day have come in WWE.
But it wasn't always plain sailing for the group. In fact, Ripley recalled how she was worried that the Judgement Day "wasn't going to pull through" shortly after it was born.
Thanks to Triple H, though, it survived and is now thriving.
"He's definitely had a massive impact," Ripley said of Triple H, who currently serves as WWE's chief content officer.
"There was a moment where I didn't think the Judgment Day was going to pull through. We had just started. We had just kicked Edge out. I got injured and it wasn't going very well.
"I was very nervous watching from home, watching it all unfold. And I'm like 'What's happening with my boys? Why aren't they out there? Why aren't they beating the hell out of people?'
"But then Triple H stepped in and took it, and it's just been a wild, fun ride since then. He really sees a lot in all of us."
WWE brings Money In The Bank to The O2 in London on Saturday 1st July. For tickets visit: https://www.wwe.com/event/money-in-the-bank. Fans can tune in on the WWE Network.
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