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Rhea Ripley is one of the top women on the WWE roster today, and has developed a particular cult following for her edgy attire—known to wear black for what many have described as a “goth” or “punk rock” look. However, for one of the biggest matches of her career, she wore blue, gold, and—perhaps most strikingly for her persona—white.
WrestleMania 36 marked a coming out party of sorts for her on the main roster as she defended the NXT Women’s Championship against a no lesser rival than Charlotte Flair. It was a bit odd to see Ripley step away from her more signature look for such a big match, but she did have her reasons—some overt, and some potentially more symbolic.
The Origins Of Rhea Ripley’s WWE Look
There are quite a few photos of Rhea Ripley from before WWE or even early in her tenure there, like when she was one of the participants in the Mae Young Classic tournament. For these appearances, she worked with a more generic look for a female wrestler. The look has evolved quite a bit, though, since that point.
As Ripley discussed with Lillian Garcia on the Chasing Glory podcast (h/t EWrestling), the darker look started as simple, practical a consideration as she started wetting down her hair because she wanted to keep cool while she was wrestling. Beyond that, though, Ripley’s personal aesthetic didn’t abide by business casual dress standards. Rather she favored the look of a black leather jacket with spikes, and her presentation as a wrestler took off from there, and has only grown a shade darker as part of the Judgment Day faction.
Rhea Ripley Paid Homage To A Dragon Ball Z Character
The video game experts at GameSpot readily identified that Rhea Ripley’s WrestleMania 36 gear drew inspiration from Dragon Ball Z character Vegeta. In addition to Ripley being open about her Dragon Ball Z fanhood in the past, GameSpot pointed out that she even has a Vegeta quote tattooed on her leg: “I do not fear this new challenge, rather like a true warrior I will rise to meet it."
Ripley wasn’t the first wrestler to pay tribute to the animated series, as New Day more overtly appeared in gear straight out of the game for one of their most iconic cosplay choices at WrestleMania 32. It’s a shame that, in contrast to the decorated tag team, Ripley didn’t have a live, stadium crowd to play to when she donned the gear, but rather worked her WrestleMania debut during the empty arena era.
The Symbolic Meanings Of Rhea Ripley Wearing White At WWE WrestleMania 36
While the Dragon Ball Z reference was clearly Rhea Ripley’s primary consideration in wearing white for her top at WrestleMania 36, there are other ways fans can read into her departure from her typical gear.
White tends to represent goodness or purity in traditional terms. Particularly given that she hadn’t had much time to build a connection with the main roster audience, it makes some sense that WWE would want to go out of its way to make her look like a babyface for this big match. Moreover, for a female performer, it’s hard to avoid the traditional connotations of white in the context of wedding dresses, implying that the bride is going into her marriage unsullied by the world—another parallel one might draw for a young wrestler making her first ever appearance in a WrestleMania match.
Rhea Ripley hasn’t revisited white gear since WrestleMania 36. Nonetheless, first impressions count for something, and it is interesting that Ripley worked her first ‘Mania, and indeed her first major match on the main roster in gear quite different from her norm.