Rhea Ripley gave a teary-eyed interview after a main event victory in her home country of Australia.
In the main event of WWE Elimination Chamber, Rhea Ripley fought Nia Jax in front of over 50,000 of her countrymen in Perth, Australia. The Nightmare faced an uphill challenge against Jax, but was able to withstand everything thrown at her, including an Annihilator, before dropping The Irresistible Force with a Riptide to retain the Women’s World Championship.
After the show, Ripley spoke to Byron Saxton in a WWE Digital Exclusive about how special the night was for her. Fighting back tears, the star admitted she was “taken aback” by the reaction of the crowd.
“It’s hard to put into words exactly how special this is to be honest. I’m still so taken aback by the crowd reaction, actually seeing my family out there. To be completely honest, at the very end when I had that extra time to myself, I let it fully soak in.
“It’s funny, because I had a weird flashback of my last match here in Australia. I defended my title then I left Champion because Mami’s always on top, but I remember sitting in the middle of the ring and just soaking it all in and soaking up the crowd, and just letting them in and letting them affect me in a way that I don’t really try and let them affect me.
“I did the same thing tonight without even meaning to and it just gave me that flashback and it was just a real awesome moment for me, it really was. I hate getting teary on camera, I guess you’ve got to see every single side of Mami.”
Rhea Ripley Sends Warning To Becky Lynch For WrestleMania 40
Earlier in the night, Becky Lynch overcame five other women to win the Elimination Chamber match, giving her a title match against Ripley at WrestleMania 40. Ripley admitted that it was a “bucket list moment” for her, as the only other time the two faced off was in NXT, and that time there was no definitive conclusion to their match.
“Everyone in Elimination Chamber did exceptionally well, they all put up such a fantastic fight, I was watching very very closely.
“I think heading into WrestleMania against Becky Lynch is a real bucket list moment. I’ve nearly knocked everyone in the Horsewomen, and Becky’s the last one. I haven’t stepped into the ring with her since NXT, and it was, you know, DQ’d by Shayna Baszler, so we’ve never had a finish to our match.
“So, I think it’s very fitting that it happens at ‘Mania, and I hope that Becky is ready, otherwise, her nightmares are going to become a reality and Mami’s gonna end up on top just like she always damn does.”
Becky Lynch sent her own warning to Rhea Ripley as The Nightmare celebrated her victory.
With the event now in the history books, the Perth Tourism Board has sent a message to WWE following the event.
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