WWE’s Rhea Ripley Shows Up at the Royal Rumble

There have been plenty of rumors regarding Rhea Ripley ever since she lost that brutal (and amazing) match against Raquel Gonzalez on New Year’s Evil. The match seemed like a sendoff match and a passing of the baton so to speak, and Ripley’s absence from NXT television has only fueled that further. Recent rumors indicated that Ripley would be one of the surprise entrants in tonight’s Women’s Royal Rumble match, and much to the delight of fans that turned out to be true.

Ripley entered at number 14, and immediately went to eliminating Toni Storm. You can check out her entrance right here.

Where Ripley goes from here remains to be seen. The most likely destination for Ripley is Raw, as that title picture is in need of fresh blood, and Charlotte Flair’s recent return is the perfect opportunity for WWE to continue the Ripley Charlotte feud that led to their WrestleMania match and all the story opportunities that presents.

Ripley is going to want to put Flair in her rearview mirror, and it would give both stars a perfect feud to jumpstart their new runs and Raw overall. You could also instantly insert her into the title picture on SmackDown of course, but Raw could use her star power more, especially if WWE wants to keep the title on Asuka or Flair moving forward.

Here’s the full card for the Royal Rumble:

WWE Championship: Drew McIntyre vs. GoldbergWWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens (Last Man Standing)WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Asuka & Charlotte Flair vs. Nia Jax & Shayna BaszlerMen’s Royal Rumble: Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Otis, The Miz, Jey Uso, Cesaro, Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, Big E, John Morrison, Sheamus, Mustafa Ali, Edge, TBAWomen’s Royal Rumble: Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Beliar, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss, Shayna Baszler, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Tamina, TBA

Were you excited to see Ripley in the Royal Rumble? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things WWE with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!