For several years now, Triple H and the developmental system have been cultivating The Nightmare Rhea Ripley into a much different breed of WWE superstar. When she first came to the company as part of the inaugural Mae Young Classic, the Aussie Bombshell looked very similar to fellow Aussie star, Toni Storm. She would spend the next year reinventing herself to distance herself from the quintessential blonde look.
It worked and it worked in droves. Ripley is the first female to win the NXT UK, NXT, and now Raw Women’s Title. She was the first (and she is the only NXT superstar to defend her title at a WrestleMania). Now it’s time for the Nightmare to update her Riptide finisher into something more terrifying than an updated version of Road Dogg's pump handle drop.
DDT
Yes the DDT has been bastardized over the last few decades into nothing more than just a transition move. However, you’re still dropping an opponent on their head or face. Some of The Nightmare’s best moves involve bashing her opponents’ faces in somehow. She also not only does one short arm clothesline, she holds onto a victim’s arm, yanks them back up only to deliver another devastating clothesline.
Currently she transitions this into a dropkick. But perhaps she should just blatantly rip off the master - Jake The Snake Roberts. Let it breathe for a moment or two that she nearly took her foe’s head off before signaling for the DDT. From the very moment she wins her first match with the move, it would almost immediately begin to once again be one of the most feared in the sport.
One-Winged Angel
It worked for Michelle McCool once, right? Similar to how she coopted The Styles Clash into The Faith Breaker, Ripley could borrow from Kenny Omega and claim The One-Winged Angel for her own.
She already does several versions of the Electric Chair Driver, this could simply be the one that ends the match. When you're able to muscle up opponents on your shoulders the way that Ripley can, there are a variety of moves you can pull off from the One-Winged Angel position.
Fisherman Suplex
For old-school fans, the Cradle Suplex was popularized by Mr. Perfect as the Perfect Plex. While the pomp and circumstance Curt Henning wouldn't fit Ripley, The Nightmare could certainly adapt Hennig’s most famous move and make it her own. Instead of the standard bridging suplex for the victory, Ripley’s version would be more of a spinning neck breaker culminating in a bridge for the pinfall victory.
The Spinebuster
Have you seen the massive arms of Rhea Ripley?! The sculpted biceps could snatch up any foe at any time to deliver a scintillating Spinebuster, either Double-A style or Farooq’s pick ‘em up and smash them down version.
Some of the simplest moves could look completely “nightmarish” in the right superstar’s hands. Most people should be terrified of getting nailed with Rhea Ripley’s Spinebuster.
No disrespect to the Hall Of Fame degenerate, Jesse James, the Pump Handle Drop is not, nor has it ever been a great finisher. Certainly not a finisher indicative of the top-tier talent that Ripley has become. It’s time for the young Aussie to once again grow up a little more and adopt a much more devastating finishing move. She’s called The Nightmare and her theme song is all about being brutal. Something that the Riptide is not.