Rhea Ripley had a rare wholesome moment this weekend.
Following her homecoming in Australia, where she defended her title with a win over Nia Jax in front of her family and home land fans at WWE Elimination Chamber: Perth, the WWE Women’s World Champion spoke with Byron Saxton backstage at Optus Stadium for a digital exclusive interview.
During the discussion, “Mami” spoke about the performances of those who competed in the Women’s Chamber match, how heading into WrestleMania against Becky Lynch with the title on-the-line is a bucket list moment for her and more.
Featured below are some of the highlights from the interview where she touches on these topics with her thoughts.
On the performances of those involved in the Women’s Chamber match and how facing Becky Lynch at WrestleMania is a bucket list moment for her: “Everyone in the 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 off everyone in the Horsewomen and Becky’s the last one. I haven’t stepped in the room with her since NXT and 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 gonna become a reality, and Mami’s gonna end up on top just like she always damn does.”
On how WWE Chamber and celebrating her win with her family there was a rare wholesome moment for herself: “It’s hard to put into words exactly how special this is, to be honest. so taken back 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 cuz I had a weird flashback over my last match here in Australia. I defended my title then, I left champion because Mami’s always on top. 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. It was a real wholesome moment for me, it really was. I hate getting teary on camera.”
Check out the complete interview via the YouTube player embedded below. H/T to Fightful.com for transcribing the above quotes.
