Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez are currently top names on WWE’s female roster. Though they are currently feuding with each other onscreen, it seems that they have a different connection behind the camera. Ripley and Rodriguez have been friends in real life.
It is astonishing to think that two WWE superstars who are currently engaged in a clash against each other could be friends in real life. The more amazing fact is that Ripley and Rodriguez have secret nicknames for each other.
Previously in 2018, The Judgment Day member took to her Instagram account to upload a picture. The image featured her along with Brennan and Rodriguez. It is exactly the picture that reveals their secret nicknames.
The nicknames are ‘Aussie Koala’ and ‘Texas Armadillo’. It can be understood that Ripley is ‘Aussie Koala’ since she is Australian and also because she is hugging the pole in the image like a Koala. On the other hand, Rodriguez is the ‘Texas Armadillo’, since she was born in Texas and has posed like an Armadillo.
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However, as of now, their friendship has come a long way and has suffered a lot. Currently, they might be referred to as bitter enemies rather than friends.
Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez’s NXT career
Both Rhea and Raquel are currently signed to WWE, where they perform on the red brand of the promotion. However, both of them began their careers on the Independent Circuit and then went through NXT to finally settle down in WWE RAW.
Raquel signed with WWE in 2016 and made her NXT debut in 2017. She performed on NXT until 2022 before being moved to the main roster. During her time in the promotion’s developmental brand, she won the NXT Women’s Championship. She also went on to win the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship a record two times.
Ripley, on the other hand, performed on NXT from 2019 to 2021. During this timeframe, she went on to become the NXT Women’s Champion and later joined The Judgment Day in 2022 after being moved to the main roster. It is to be noted that The Eradicator’s last match on NXT was against Raquel, which she lost.
However, nothing is the same between the two friends anymore, and the entire WWE Universe knows that. WWE recently took to their official Instagram handle to post several pictures of the two superstars and captioned the post as “Friends no more: A lot has changed for @rhearipley_wwe and @raquelwwe since their NXT days… #WWEPayback.”
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Ripley and Rodriguez will now face each other in a singles match for the Women’s World Championship at the upcoming PPV event, WWE Payback 2023. It is to be seen who emerges victorious among the once real-life friends.