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BREAKING: Rhea Ripley Replaced By WWE

By Sridhar Krishnan • Published Jun 16, 2026 11:44 EDT
rhea ripley tiffany stratton charlotte flair wwe
Rhea Ripley was reported to have suffed a knee injury during WWE's European tour - Source: WWE.com

The dark clouds over Rhea Ripley’s immediate future in WWE just got darker.

The Australian superstar has had a busy 2026, which included a brand switch from Raw to SmackDown. After winning the Elimination Chamber match in February, she earned herself a title shot against Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 42.

At the Show of Shows, Ripley overcame The Storm despite the numbers disadvantage after her friend IYO SKY interfered and took out B-Fab and Michin.

Since then, Rhea Ripley has been the top face of the women’s division on the blue brand and has had a recurring feud with Jade Cargill, which ended at Clash in Italy after Ripley retained her title.

However, on the subsequent SmackDown episode, the 29-year-old wrestler was seen wearing a brace on her right knee and walking with a limp.

It was later confirmed that her knee injury was significant, which would result in her missing a few tapings of SmackDown.

Now, in a sign that indicates the seriousness of her injury, Ripley was replaced by Tiffany Stratton on the WWE Night of Champions poster.

The initial poster shared by Triple H on his X account showed the WWE Women’s Champion alongside Cody Rhodes, Liv Morgan, and Trick Williams.

While it may have been an indication that she would have had some form of role to play at NOC, things now seemed to have pivoted due to her injury.

WWE SummerSlam Plans For Rhea Ripley Revealed

Jade Cargill has not been Rhea Ripley’s only problem on WWE SmackDown.

While debuting on the blue brand on its April 24 edition, Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Lainey Reid left a massive impact by attacking Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair.

Later that night, Jayne faced Ripley but lost by disqualification after Henley and Reid attacked the champion.

This led to Ripley aligning with Flair and Bliss against Fatal Influence. On the May 8 episode, the six women clashed in a tag match, which ended with Jayne pinning Bliss for the win.

Reportedly, WWE has been impressed with Fatal Influence’s impact on the blue brand and has decided to give them more TV time.

Another report by False Finish revealed that a plan has been pitched internally for Jayne to face Ripley for the WWE Women’s Championship at SummerSlam in August.

With Rhea Ripley’s ongoing injury situation, it remains to be seen how fast she can recover and get a few matches under her belt before the biggest party of the summer.

For the moment, it appears that she will miss Night of Champions. On the bright side, Tiffany Stratton could get the chance to defend her Women’s United States Championship at the Riyadh event on June 27.

Incidentally, the title has never been defended at a premium live event since its creation in November 2024.