Rhea Ripley’s Women’s World Championship Matches

Rhea Ripley is firmly a top star in WWE today, which was accentuated by the fact that she tied the record for the longest Women’s World Title reign in WWE history at 380 days. She would have broken the record too, if it weren’t for an ill-timed injury which forced her into vacating the championship.

With Ripley’s title reign now over, it provides a good opportunity to take a look back at all of her title defenses over the last year. TheSportster’s match rating system will determine which of Ripley’s title defenses were the best and which were the worst, and all in between. These ratings will be compared to those from Cagematch.net and Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

10 Rhea Ripley Vs. Raquel Rodriguez (WWE Payback 2023)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 4.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 1.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 5.01

Arguably the most underwhelming match of Rhea Ripley’s reign as Women’s World Champion came against Raquel Rodriguez at Payback. Despite their previous strong matches in NXT, these two just did not mesh well here. Botches, sloppy spots, uncoordinated moves, and a progressively uninterested crowd led to this being one of the most jarring, bland, and drawn out matches in the card. It wasn’t all bad, with some decent sequences and good power moves, but given what was expected coming, this fell short.

9 Rhea Ripley Vs. Natalya (WWE Night Of Champions 2023)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: N/A
• Cagematch.net Rating: N/A

Rhea Ripley defeated Natalya in one minute and ten seconds, completely bulldozing through her in a squash match. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with this, though there wasn’t enough for it to properly stand out either. Sure, Ripley looked dominant, but in truth it would have been nicer to see her have a good back and forth match with a veteran like Natalya. Ripley didn’t need this sort of victory, even if the execution was fine.

8 Rhea Ripley Vs. Ivy Nile (WWE RAW 01/01/2024)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 5.25/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: N/A
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.66

The storytelling behind this match was minimal at best, though they did manage to incorporate something minimal in terms of Ivy Nile being a plucky rookie and Rhea Ripley being the dominant and established champion. The predictable nature of this match did affect things, but from a technical standpoint these two did have some strong chemistry and put together a decent enough TV match.

7 Rhea Ripley Vs. Zoey Stark (WWE Survivor Series 2023)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 5.25/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 2.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 5.79

Perhaps before she was ready, Zoey Stark stepped up to take on Rhea Ripley at Survivor Series for the Women’s World Championship. The match was fine, and Stark and Ripley had decent chemistry, but it wasn’t anything special by any means. There was very little heat to this one in terms of both story and crowd reaction, leading to the match dragging in places. Starks’ character work wasn’t overly impressive here, with WWE still not really knowing where she stands in terms of gimmick and personality.

6 Rhea Ripley Vs. Zelina Vega (WWE Backlash 2023)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 5.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 2 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 5.29

The crowd elevated what was essentially a glorified squash match into something that was a career highlight for Zelina Vega up until this point. The Puerto Rican audience gave Vega a hero’s welcome, drowning her in applause and cheers in a goosebump-inducing moment. She put up a decent fight with a couple of flurries, but Ripley dominated for the most part and put her down with ease. Given the crowd investment, this should have been longer and far more competitive, making it feel a bit underwhelming in the end.

5 Rhea Ripley Vs. Raquel Rodriguez Vs. Nia Jax Vs. Shayna Baszler Vs. Zoey Stark (WWE Crown Jewel 2023)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 5.90

The five women involved here put in a strong showing, with great sequences, unique multi-person moves, and some especially impressive performances from the likes of Zoey Stark and Raquel Rodriguez. Where this match really dropped down in quality was the lack of crowd reaction for the match, who just didn’t seem to care about anyone.

4 Rhea Ripley Vs. Raquel Rodriguez (WWE RAW 09/11/2023)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.25/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: N/A
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.11

In what was a big step up from their previous match, Rhea Ripley and Raquel Rodriguez had a hard-hitting clash on an episode of Monday Night RAW. Whilst it wasn’t quite to the level, this did have some hints of the chemistry they had back during NXT, where they had a very enjoyable feud. This did have some slow moments, but they both looked incensed and focused on getting the job done and laying into one another. The post-match return of Nia Jax was a big talking point too.

3 Rhea Ripley Vs. Nia Jax (WWE Elimination Chamber 2024)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 6.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 3 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 6.44

Rhea Ripley’s first PLE main event came against Nia Jax in her home country of Australia, and the Aussie crowd ensured that the match felt special and was elevated with their investment. Ripley felt like a big star here, taking one more of a babyface role against fellow heel Jax. They had a good power battle that had a decent speed, and in the end it was Ripley who managed to overcome the major opponent in an impressive way. It was maybe not the quality of a PLE main event, but the crowd helped it along.

2 Rhea Ripley Vs. Becky Lynch (WWE WrestleMania 40 Saturday)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 7.75/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.25 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 7.41

The final match of Rhea Ripley’s reign came in the opener of WrestleMania 40. She clashed with Becky Lynch in a strong match which flowed very well, with some nice near-falls and great technique. Lynch’s illness going in visibly took a toll on her, as she wasn’t quite on her game, but she still managed to fight through it to have one of the best matches on the show. It could have certainly been better, but it was still strong for what it was in the end.

1 Rhea Ripley Vs. Charlotte Flair (WWE WrestleMania 39 Saturday)

Overall Rating From TheSportster: 9.5/10

• Dave Meltzer Rating: 4.75 Stars
• Cagematch.net Rating: 9.05

Whilst this isn’t a “defense”, it would be remiss to not include the best match Rhea Ripley had over the last 380 days, kicking off her reign in one of the best women’s matches in WWE history. Ripley and Charlotte Flair tore the house down here in a very physical, intense, stiff, and thrilling clash. They went back and forth for nearly 25 minutes in an instant classic. Ripley emerged firmly as a star here, defeating Flair and becoming champion.