Rhea Ripley has said her aim is to make history after adding the SmackDown Women’s Championship to the four other titles she has won in WWE.
Ripley is the only performer to have held the NXT UK Women’s Championship, the NXT Women’s Championship, the WWE Women’s Tag Team Title, the Raw Women’s Championship, and the SmackDown Women’s Title.
When asked about her victory at the WrestleMania, night 1 press conference, she said:
Man, it’s extremely satisfying. Going into WrestleMania 36, it was my first WrestleMania. I was NXT Women’s Champion, and Charlotte had just won the Royal Rumble, and I was like, “You know what, if she wants to challenge me, bring it.”
Unfortunately for me, my first WrestleMania was at a time when the world was shut down, so we had zero people in attendance.
We were at the Performance Center, which is where I had trained every single day for the past two to three years. And it was the one place that I really didn’t want to go to. But, at the end of the day, I think Charlotte and I still stole the show that night. So I’m very, very proud of that match.
But going out there tonight at WrestleMania 39 in Hollywood, I’m the Royal Rumble winner. I challenged Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, and I came out victorious this time.
On being the first woman to have held five separate titles in WWE, she added:
I’m here to make history. Growing up in Adelaide, South Australia, I always got told that my dream of coming to the WWE would probably not happen.
So just making it here is such an accomplishment, but being the first Grand Slam champion to have those exact championships is so satisfying.
I’m so extremely proud of myself and my journey here to the WWE and then my journey here within the WWE to be able to accomplish all those historic moments.
Man, that’s the one thing that I strive for, making history. I want my name etched in the history books forever, and I’ve gone and done that.
Speaking about her personal growth in the past three years, she commented:
I think the main thing is I’ve grown up. I was very, very confident at WrestleMania 36 but I was also very new and I was still learning who I was as a human being and a professional wrestler.
I feel like three years ago, I was very immature, my confidence definitely overshadowed everything. Now I’m confident, but I also have the skill set to back it up.
I’ve done many, many things here, and I feel like every single little thing has built up to this current moment. I feel like growing up outside of work is one of the main things for me.
I’ve matured so much mentally, and also physically, that I’m a whole different beast these days, and I think a lot of the men here in the WWE can testify to that.
