Why Rhea Ripley Almost Quit WWE

Rhea Ripley is heading into her sixth WrestleMania where she’ll challenge for the Women’s World Championship, but her WWE career could have been over before it began.

Rhea Ripley has only ever known title matches at WrestleMania, competing for all manner of gold on the grandest stage of them and proving just what an asset she is to WWE. At WrestleMania 41, Rhea Ripley will challenge IYO SKY for the Women’s World Title in a triple threat match also involving Bianca Belair.

Rhea Ripley climbed the ranks in WWE, capturing the NXT UK Women’s Title before winning the NXT Women’s Championship and becoming the first person to hold that title when a Royal Rumble winner decided to challenge for it at WrestleMania.

Ripley has held versions of the women’s world title on three occasions and has also been a WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion. But all of that might never have happened.

Rhea Ripley Almost Quit WWE

Very early in her WWE career, Ripley was part of a battle royal won by Nikki Cross. For the rest of 2017 and well into 2018, Ripley struggled to find her footing and lost 16 out of 20 matches.

Speaking to Paste, Rhea Ripley revealed that it was during this time she felt like quitting WWE and giving up on her dream, but it was those who believed in her who spurred her to keep going:

I literally broke down. I was at my lowest and I wanted to quit. I wanted to give it all up, and I was like, ‘No, you have to continue for all the people that actually did believe in you. You have to prove the doubters wrong.’

Fans across the world will be delighted that Ripley didn’t call it a day and at the age of just 28, it seems The Eradicator could be around for a long time yet in the ring.