Monday’s post-Money In the Bank edition of WWE RAW saw WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley retain her title over Natalya. The back & forth bout went around 13 minutes and was much better than Ripley’s 1 minute squash win over Natalya at WWE Night of Champions in late May. The match was praised online by fans with many, including Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, calling this the best women’s TV match for this year, from any promotion.
In an update, a new report from Fightful Select notes that Natalya vs. Ripley not only impressed fans online but people backstage were also praising the match, and members of management in attendance were happy with the match. WWE higher-ups were also very happy with the gritty nature of the match.
It was noted that both Superstars took a real beating during the match and several strikes were laid in, but they both also ended up very happy with the match, the reaction backstage, and the online feedback. Ripley had her mouth busted open during the action, but word is that both women told others backstage how much fun they had.
Natalya took to Twitter after the match and wrote, “Tonight was personal. It was an apology to myself for putting up with what I didn’t deserve. Thank you so much to everyone who still believes in me, even when I didn’t always believe in myself. It truly means the world to me.”
Natalya then posted a follow-up today and added, “Sometimes people forget, until I get the chance to remind them. I was made in The Dungeon. I can take anyone to their limit on any night, because that’s what top level competitors do. Now line up the rest and let me loose on them too.”
Ripley posted a photo of her busted lip and wrote, “RIP figuratively and literally to my smiley piercing… You had a good run. [blood drop emoji]”
You can see match video below, along with the aforementioned tweets:
Tonight was personal. It was an apology to myself for putting up with what I didn’t deserve. Thank you so much to everyone who still believes in me, even when I didn’t always believe in myself. It truly means the world to me.
— Nattie (@NatbyNature) July 4, 2023
Sometimes people forget, until I get the chance to remind them. I was made in The Dungeon. I can take anyone to their limit on any night, because that’s what top level competitors do. Now line up the rest and let me loose on them too. pic.twitter.com/ko3if7lkkM
— Nattie (@NatbyNature) July 4, 2023
RIP figuratively and literally to my smiley piercing… You had a good run. 🩸
— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) July 4, 2023
https://twitter.com/RheaRipley_WWE/status/1676376037679087619
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