So Triple H isn't the one who came up with the idea for Rhea Ripley to face Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 36; USA wasn't responsible either. And speaking to Cathy Kelley after NXT Takeover: Portland, the NXT chief noted that the whole thing was Vince McMahon's idea.

The build-up to the show began at the Royal Rumble, with Drew McIntyre and Flair winning their Rumble matches to lock in a spot for 2020's biggest event. McIntyre didn't waste any time in making a target of Brock Lesnar but Charlotte didn't make her decision as hurriedly. Fans were left to wonder who she would call out - surely, the Becky Lynch thing has gotten old, so has the feud with Bayley.

She left just about everyone surprised when she opted to challenge the NXT Women's Champion for a match on the Grandest Stage of Them All.

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As it happens, Triple H was also colored surprised and revealed as much during his conversation with Kelley, also denying the USA Network was behind it as had previously been suggested.

“Actually, USA had no involvement in it, really at all. To be honest, it was shocking to me when it was first mentioned to me," he said (via Wrestletalk). "I believe that this was just a decision from Vince’s part on understanding the other stories for the women. To me, you have opportunities where you look in a moment in time and ask is Charlotte going after Bayley and Sasha Banks [on SmackDown], does she come after Becky Lynch [on Raw].

“You’ve seen that before and we’re looking into something fresh and you see that with Shayna Baszler going after Becky Lynch and you see that in different ways on SmackDown with where they’re going. So this was a way for Charlotte Flair needing to be in that big, epic role. I think it really had nothing more to do with that. It’s good storytelling and that’s what the goal is here, good storytelling across the board.”

Something We Can All Get Behind

As shocking as this was, it's been well-received by the fans as it's something they can easily get behind. The matches involving Lynch and Bayley had already gotten stale and, if Ronda Rousey isn't going to be around, then why not Rhea?

It was thought that Bianca Belair could be the one who got to face Charlotte at WrestleMania but she lost her Takeover match against The Nightmare, who was quickly assaulted by Charlotte after retaining her title. The Queen would pick up a mic and finally deliver her response to Ripley's challenge following the attack.

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Source: Wrestletalk