Rhea Ripley is at the peak of her professional wrestling career with a drop-dead persona. With over 2.6 million followers on her Instagram account, the Australian star might never have imagined that she could grow to be this Rhea Ripley. Who knew that the ‘basic b*tch’ that entered the gates of professional wrestling would shine out as ‘The Mami’ in a very short amount of time.
Rhea Ripley had long blonde hair when she first stepped into WWE and carried a smiling face and was known as the ‘basic bi*ch’ by many. She wanted to bring a change in her personality and cut her hair short but was scared to do so. Finally, one day, a guy at WWE told her that she would rock short hair.
Don’t fear the reaper.
— WWE (@WWE) August 6, 2020
Fear the RIPLEY. 👹#WWENXT @RheaRipley_WWE pic.twitter.com/4VqevsxilB
“And I was like, ‘alright I’m gonna do it.’ So I cut my hair, and gradually it got shorter every week. Every NXT show, it got shorter and shorter,” said Rhea Ripley speaking on the After The Bell podcast. Not only did she adopt a shorter haircut but also went through her in-ring gear transformation.
Can we all just take a moment out of our day to appreciate the incredible transformation of Rhea Ripley. pic.twitter.com/z0SJF4lWmT
— Wrestling Jebus (@WrestlingJebus) January 18, 2021
Rhea also started wearing gear in black and also adopted a darker shade of makeup. She also added more studs to her looks adopting a ‘punk’ look. Not only was she successful in portraying a dark character but has also gained success with her latest in-ring character of ‘The Mami.’
How did Ripley become a part of WWE?
Rhea Ripley was 17 when she started wrestling in the independent circuit. After spending almost 4 years there, WWE spotted her potential and Rhea was signed with the Stamford-based company. She was a part of the Mae Young Classic 2017 but couldn’t make it through.
In 2018, she was an integral part of the newly created NXT UK and became the inaugural NXT UK Women’s Champion. Stepping into NXT gave her a massive platform to bring out her absolute best and within a year, Rhea Ripley made her main roster debut and rose to be the next top star of the division.
Rhea Ripley and her rise to stardom in WWE
The Mae Young Classic run wasn’t very successful for the Australian star and brought Rhea Ripley lower self-esteem. However, with her character change, she was able to regain her confidence and was eventually brought to NXT. Ripley then went ahead to face many top names in the yellow brand including Shayna Baszler, Mandy Rose and Toni Storm.
Rhea Ripley’s capabilities were now out before the WWE Universe and she made her WWE main roster debut in 2022. After being involved in various feuds with stars such as Charlotte Flair and Asuka, Rhea finally joined hands with Edge and became a part of ‘The Judgment Day.’
After much change of tables, Edge was kicked off of the stable and the faction turned out to be the biggest heel faction in recent times. The Mami is certainly the biggest asset to the team and she brings out an excellent performance every time she steps into the WWE arena