Rhea Ripley is just 26 years old, and she is already one of the best female wrestlers out there. She is a real threat to the entire women's division, and she is even a threat to the men, as she has already dealt with Edge, Rey Mysterio, Luke Gallows, among others. Rhea doesn't care who is in front of her, she will destroy her/him.
Rhea Ripley's WWE career has been great so far, she has had many good moments, and she hasn't even reached her peak. However, admittedly, The Nightmare has also had a few bad moments. Without further ado, let's take a look at the five best moments of Rhea Ripley's WWE career, and the five worst.
10 Best: First Ever NXT UK Women’s Champion
On the November 28, 2018, episode of NXT UK, Rhea Ripley faced off against Toni Storm in the finals of the NXT UK Women's Title tournament.
Ripley prevailed and became the first ever NXT UK Women's Champion in history. That was the first big moment of Rhea's career. She had two successful defenses, against Isla Dawn and Deonna Purrazzo, until she dropped the title to Toni Storm.
9 Worst: Losing The NXT UK Women’s Title
That loss to Toni Storm at NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool was a tough moment for Rhea Ripley, as she lost the title she had worked so hard to earn after her long road to WWE.
Also, it was actually a bad match for Ripley, as she looked unmotivated that night, far from her heavy-hitter level. Fortunately, Rhea Ripley learned her lesson, picked herself up and continued to develop as a professional wrestler.
8 Best: Joining Judgment Day
Rhea Ripley turned heel on the April 18, 2021, episode of Monday Night Raw after her loss (alongside Liv Morgan) to Women’s Tag Team Champions Sasha Banks and Naomi. Right after the match, Rhea exploded and attacked Morgan. That was a good moment, but not as great as when she joined the Judgment Day.
At WrestleMania Backlash 2022, The Nightmare showed up to help Edge defeat AJ Styles. This moment completely changed Judgment Day’s direction, as Rhea brought power and true evilness to the faction. Since then, Rhea has been amazing, it feels like she was born to be a heel.
7 Worst: Couldn’t Defeat Nikki Cross
One of the worst moments of Rhea Ripley's career was when she looked weak as Raw Women's Champion. On the May 24, 2021, edition of Monday Night Raw, The Nightmare faced Nikki Cross in a beat-the-clock challenge.
She had to beat her in less than two minutes, but simply couldn't do it, looking weak and perhaps dumb. Her Raw Women's Title reign was lackluster precisely because of terrible booking decisions like this one.
6 Best: Bodyslamming Luke Gallows
Rhea Ripley's best moment as a heel was when she showed off her extraordinary strength on the October 24 episode of Monday Night Raw. Believe it or not, The Nightmare bodyslammed none other than Luke Gallows, who weighs over 300 pounds.
Rhea is undoubtedly one of the strongest women out there. As if that wasn't enough, Ripley then delivered a low blow to Karl Anderson, allowing Finn Balor to win the match. Rhea Ripley stole the show, something she has done on a regular basis since turning heel.
5 Worst: Losing To Queen Zelina in 50 seconds
Once again, the booking really hurt Rhea Ripley. Certainly, in wrestling anything is possible, but does it really make sense that Queen Zelina defeated Rhea Ripley in a singles match? Not at all, let alone in less than a minute.
Ripley is one of the most dominant women in WWE history, while Zelina has never been able to stand out. It wasn't exactly a clean win for Zelina, as Ripley was distracted, but still Ripley looked very weak. This terrible moment happened on December 13, 2021, on RAW.
4 Best: NXT Women’s Championship Win
On the December 18, 2019, edition of NXT, Rhea Ripley challenged NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler. It was an outstanding match, both women did an amazing job and told a great story.
These two women fought with intensity and pushed each other to their limits, but in the end, it was Rhea Ripley who prevailed to end Shayna Baszler's reign of terror and become champion. This was an unforgettable moment for Ripley.
3 Worst: Losing the Raw Women’s Title
In kayfabe terms, Money In The Bank 2021 was a terrible time for Rhea Ripley, as she lost the Raw Women's Title and the final thoughts were that she wasn't ready to be champion.
Also, Ripley lost again to Charlotte Flair, proving that the girl who lost to The Queen at WrestleMania 36 hadn't learned anything. Some fans were very upset as they felt Charlotte buried Ripley, but at least it was an excellent match and Ripley could hold her head high.
2 Best: WrestleMania 37 Victory
The best moment of Rhea Ripley's WWE career was at WrestleMania 37, where she defeated Asuka to become Raw Women's Champion. Certainly the match wasn't a big deal, as Rhea looked a little nervous and Asuka wasn't motivated.
However, that was Rhea's first match after getting the call-up to the main roster, and she defeated the legendary Asuka on The Biggest Stage Of Them All, which is saying something. The Nightmare proved that she was here to stay.
1 Worst: Women’s Tag Team Championship Run
Frankly Rhea Ripley and Nikki ASH's entire Women's Tag Team Championship run was pretty bad. Firstly, it made no sense for them to team up since they had nothing in common and, indeed, it became evident that they had no chemistry.
Still, they managed to become champions, but it was a terrible reign. They ended up losing the titles to Queen Zelina and Carmella in one of the worst feuds of WWE 2021.