Now a former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Rhea Ripley was one of five women who represented Team RAW at last weekend’s Survivor Series event. Who wasn’t on Team RAW despite being a champion at the time was Ripley’s tag team partner – Nikki A.S.H.
At the time of Survivor Series, Ripley was still tag team champion along with Nikki before the duo lost the titles to Queen Zelina & Carmella the following night on RAW. The duo held the titles for 63-days and with that, Nikki became the first woman to have held the tag team gold for three reigns.
Ripley recently spoke on Nikki being left out of Survivor Series in an interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling. She commented on the weird booking decision to not have Nikki, her co-champion, be involved in the pay-per-view.
“I think I am more disappointed than Nikki is because she’s such a positive person. Yes, I know she’s upset. But I am very upset for her because I know that she’s worked so incredibly hard for everything that she’s accomplished. She’s been in this business for a lot longer than I have. To not have her on the team is a little bit disrespectful.”
“To have one half of your Tag Team Champions on the team and not the other half, it seems a little bit silly to me. We obviously work well enough together to be champions, so why not half Nikki on the team with us? I think we could really make some magic. I’m just disappointed, I really am.”
Ripley goes on to discuss her dynamic with Nikki and how the team randomly came together but it was a good fit as they tend to balance each other out.
“It sort of just formed one day and I don’t really know how. But I am sort of glad that it did,” she said. “Because even though she’s older than me, I look at her like a little sister because she is so crazy. I have to reel her in. I need to get one of those backpacks with the lead on them because I feel like she could just disappear at any moment and I’d be like, ‘where did Nikki go?’ It’s been a lot of fun, and I think that opposites really do attract. She keeps me excited and positive and I keep her grounded and sort of remind her that she has to fight for herself. In the same way, she reminds me that I have to be nice to people.”
She discusses several other topics but does touch on the fact that she stood across the ring during the traditional elimination match from her old rival of Toni Storm. The two are known for their battles in NXT UK over the NXT UK Women’s Title. They also have a history that precedes their time with WWE.
“It was really, really bound to happen. Toni and I have been fighting each other since we were 16 years old in Australia. We have a match over there that we had and it’s just sort of progressed over time and gotten more and more popular. So our feud is definitely something that is going to go on for the longest time. I love Toni, but I hate Toni,” she said. “We have matching tattoos, but I want to punch her in the face. She’s just always going to be there and it’s going to be a feud for a long, long time.”
For the full interview, you can watch it below.
Interview credit – Sportskeeda Transcription credit – Wrestling Inc.
What did you make of Ripley’s comments on Nikki being left off the Survivor Series team? Do you think that was poor booking? Join the discussion below.
