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Rhea Ripley Provides Heartbreaking Update Amid Uncertain WWE Future

By Gaurav Singh • Published Jul 11, 2026 07:25 EDT
Rhea Ripley wwe
Rhea Ripley on SmackDown - Image Source: WWE.com

Current WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley provided a sad update on her injury while she is out of action.

Rhea Ripley has been at the top of SmackDown’s women’s division as the WWE Women’s Champion since WrestleMania 42. She last competed on SmackDown last month, where she teamed with Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton to defeat Fatal Influence. It was also announced later that Ripley has sustained a knee injury, and she has been out of action for over a month now.

It was recently reported by Sportskeeda Wrestling that there were talks within WWE about taking the Women’s title off Ripley amid her injury, but the creative team decided against it while also making alternate plans for any emergency:

There was talk of taking the title off Rhea Ripley. The injury was restrictive enough that someone suggested it. To strip Rhea Ripley of the title. But they decided against it.”

As long as the injury does not get worse, there’s no chance that the title gets taken off her. There are some alternate plans being made in case of emergency situations where they are forced to do it. But for now, she’s definitely holding on to it.”

Rhea Ripley gave an update on her injury

Speaking with Nina Drama recently, Rhea Ripley revealed that while her injured knee is healing, she can’t bend it as of now:

I am injured, unfortunately. I hurt my knee. I’ve got a slight tear in my meniscus. It’s just healing. It’s getting there, getting stronger. But I can’t bend it right now, so I kind of need it to bend.”

Ripley further stated that she is unsure about how fast she will recover, but she feels better after a month despite some complications:

I don’t know. I tore it in a weird spot, so it’s kind of a little bit up in the air with just how fast my body recovers. But I’ve been out for just over a month now, so… it does feel better, but it still starts to hurt and throb. I can’t get up or bend down really slowly, so I kind of move side to side while crouching. So it sucks. We’ll see how it goes,” Ripley disclosed. [h/t Ringside News]

Fans will have to wait and see if the WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley can return to action before SummerSlam 2026.

Also read: Alexa Bliss Breaks Silence After Shocking Assault On WWE SmackDown