Since debuting years ago in the first-ever Mae Young Classic, it was clear that at the very least, WWE developmental (re: Triple H) was taking a keen interest in the career of Rhea Ripley. In the inaugural tournament, she debuted wearing nothing that would be reminiscent of the Nightmare. She was given some sage advice to change up her look to stand out - hence The Nightmare character.
She returned one year later at the second Classic and dominated the field until coming up short against Io Shirai in the Semifinals. Even back then, comparisons to Charlotte were being made, despite Ripley wanting to stand out and just be herself. Triple H knew she was one to watch and kept helping to cultivate her into a combination of what she wanted to be and what the WWE needs its superstars to be. But unfortunately, all that hard work went straight down the toilet at the moment, thanks to a lackluster first run as Raw Women’s Champion.
There Were Big Expectations For Rhea Ripley On RAW
It’s clear that Triple H and the PC have a different vision of what a superstar should be than Vince McMahon and WWE creative. Aleister Black said as much in an interview with Renee Young post his release. NXT pushes nearly the entire roster as strong, even as competitors lose. On the main roster, there’s too much going on and too many yes men trying to please a manic McMahon that clear-cut directions don’t always seem like they're happening.
Ripley had a clear course in developmental - she took part in both Mae Young Classics she became part of the NXT UK roster and the first women’s UK champion. Even then, it was clear that the developmental coaches were priming her to take over the world. Between defeating Sasha and Charlotte in the same match and dethroning Shayna Baszler for the NXT title, there was clearly no waking up from the Nightmare.
Ripley Lacked Confidence On The Main Roster
While she wasn’t officially part of the main roster, Ripley’s first big taste of main roster success on the road to the 2019 Survivor Series was an indication that Vince McMahon believed in her. Until he didn’t? She made the big challenge to Charlotte at WrestleMania 36 and came up short.
It took her nearly a year to get back to the main roster and this time was successful at WrestleMania 37, defeating Asuka for the Raw Women’s Title and then the proverbial goose egg, or as Paul Heyman might say “bupkis” for the next several months. While wins and losses don’t necessarily mean anything in a worked sport, you have to be booked strong to appear strong and Ripley hasn’t been booked that way on the main roster at all - the classic 50/50 style WWE booking.
Ripley's Booking Has Been Awful
At Hell In The Cell, Rhea Ripley used the announce table to attack Charlotte and it caused a disqualification - you know, the same table that gets broken at least once a night! But if that shoddy decision wasn’t bad enough one month later at Money In The Bank, Charlotte used the ring steps to further damage Ripley’s leg and get her to tap out to The Figure Eight.
It’s clear that the rules don’t apply to The Queen. Perhaps that might lead to another chapter in their story. But for the moment, it became clear on the Raw after Money In The Bank that the past few weeks of Nikki A.S.H. getting the best of both ladies made them both just a backdrop to her huge moment of becoming the WWE RAW Women's Champion.
Getting Back To The Top Is The Story
Over the years, several members of the WWE inner circle have discussed a good underdog story. While some critics think this style of booking tends to bury debuting superstars, others would say if you come in on top with nothing to fight for, there’s not much of a story to tell. The old “how you get back up scenario.” That might be a good idea in practice, but in the fast world of WWE storytelling, it just seems like burying a talent with a lot of promise.
Thankfully, Ripley’s not even 25 years old, there’s plenty of career years left for her. Several months of humdrum booking won’t necessarily hurt her long-term. But short term, what was even the point of giving her the title if you weren’t going to do anything of substance with Rhea? WWE pretty much wasted the last several months of precious airtime on this nonsense between Rhea and Charlotte.
Both ladies bickered for months and are now both back where they started. That’s never good for a program, one or both superstars are supposed to be in a better position. Heading into SummerSlam, it doesn’t seem that either lady has what it takes to dethrone a girl who is rapidly becoming a full-blown superhero.