Australia’s first ever WWE women’s world champion Rhea Ripley is stranded in the United States, unable to return home as a result of Covid-19 border restrictions.
The 24-year-old from Adelaide admits she has previously burst into tears when being told she is locked out of Australia after more than two years overseas.
That anguish, however, is nothing compared to the one regret “The Nightmare” has about how her career was almost done before it even began.
In a wide-ranging interview with news.com.au, Ripley also spilt the beans on secrets within the WWE locker room and opened up on her heartbreak from Australia’s Covid-19 situation.
Ripley — whose real name is Demi Bennett — earlier this year made history and shocked the world at WrestleMania when she defeated veteran Asuka to become the first Aussie to ever hold the Raw women’s championship belt.
On Sunday morning (AEST), Ripley has the chance to get it back when she co-headlines the SummerSlam blockbuster in Las Vegas — one of the biggest events on the WWE calendar
Watch WWE SummerSlam live on Main Event, available on Foxtel and Kayo on Sunday 22 August at 10am AEST. ORDER NOW >
How she made it to the biggest stage in wrestling entertainment reveals her greatest career decision and the call that still haunts her.
Speaking after she defeated championship rival Nikki A.S.H in a non-championship match before Sunday’s triple threat match with legend Charlotte Flair, Ripley revealed she hated wrestling as a result of her attempts to be somebody else.
Self-doubt, homesickness and depression left Ripley on the verge of quitting to come back to Australia. Her year leading up to the 2018 Mae Young Classic took her to a dark place too.
It is her biggest regret that it took her so long to pull herself out of that spiral — and is also the best career decision she has ever made.
“My biggest regret is not believing in myself. And just trying to listen to everyone. I was only 20-years-old, so I was just trying to please everyone,” she said.
“I didn’t really know what I was doing and I got really depressed, and I just started hating everything about wrestling.
“I didn’t want to be here anymore. I just wanted to go home, I just wanted it to be done. So I regret feeling that way. And I probably lashed out at a few people because I was in such a dark place. But at the same time, if that didn’t happen then we wouldn’t be here.”
Changing her look to the Rhea Ripley persona that has become one of the most popular in wrestling entertainment was one of the key decisions in Ripley’s meteoric rise through the WWE ranks and made sure her personal happiness was put first.
“The best decision for me was the changing of my look to be more what I wanted it to be,” she said.
“In the first Mae Young Classic I just wanted to please everyone and I was scared of change. But if I didn’t change then I wouldn’t be able to be myself. So that was one thing I did correctly, just believe in myself and dress the way that I want to dress. Cut my hair the way that I want to cut my hair. Look the way that I want to look. Act the way I want to act.
“And I think that that’s the one thing that has really skyrocketed my career because without me changing that, to be more myself and more genuine to who I am as a person, you wouldn’t be seeing the Rhea that you see today.”
Ripley heartbroken by Australia’s Covid nightmare
It will not be lost on Ripley that she will perform in front of a sellout audience of 72,000 at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday at a time when Australia’s biggest sporting events are being played out in front of empty stadiums.
Australian expats living overseas are facing some of the toughest pandemic travel restrictions in the world and this month’s announcement that Australian citizens must now provide a “compelling” reason to be granted an exemption to travel overseas has crushed the hopes of thousands of Aussies who are unable to return home out of fear they will not be able to get out again under the current border restrictions.
Ripley is one of thousands whose hearts have been broken by the situation.
“I read it when I was in the gym and I honestly burst out crying and had to leave the gym,” she said.
“It sucks. I understand it, but it sucks. I just hope that it starts opening up and things start getting better.
“I would love to get home. If I could, I would be there tomorrow. I don’t know when I’m going to get to go home.”
Ripley said her only previous option to come home was a one-way ticket for around $19,000.
“I was like, that’s ridiculous. So with everything else that’s going on in the world, I don’t know when I’m going to get to go home,” she said.
“I just hope that it’s sometime soon because I do miss it. I miss my family, I miss my friends. I miss Australia, I just want to see a Kangaroo. I want to go to Vili’s. I want to eat a Tim Tam, a lamington. I want milo, I want Vegemite. I miss everything.”
Ripley spills on locker room secrets
Despite rumours of regular friction between stars inside the WWE dressing room, Ripley has revealed there is another very different side of what goes on behind the scenes.
She says there is a culture of care and support for everybody that steps out into the ring. The close relationships within the women’s locker room mean there are always balloons waiting when somebody’s birthday arrives.
Ripley has also revealed the truth of her infamous 2018 incident with Tegan Nox when her opponent suffered a horrific knee injury.
Ripley says it killed her to stay in character and taunt Nox as she writhed in agony on the floor.
“Her knee exploded and everything that could have happened, happened,” she said.
“And I felt absolutely horrible in that moment. And at that moment I was like, ‘I can’t let people see how terrified I am, I have to be me’.
“But like a few weeks went by and I took my dog over to her place so she could play with the dog because she didn’t have one and I know she loves dogs. So I’m just trying to cheer her up and she wasn’t angry at all.
“So things happen. Accidents happen. Most of the time we don’t yell at each other, we don’t get mad, it’s just like a conversation.
“All of us support each other. At the end of the day we just want to do the best that we can.”
Rhea Ripley vs Charlotte Flair vs Nikki A.S.H is the co-main event of SummerSlam. Roman Reigns wrestles John Cena for the WWE Universal Championship in the main event.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9zcG9ydC9zcG9ydHMtbGlmZS9hdXNzaWUtd3dlLXN0YXItcmhlYS1yaXBsZXktcmV2ZWFscy1oZXItYmlnZ2VzdC1yZWdyZXQvbmV3cy1zdG9yeS9hN2VhNzQ3ODdlM2ZjNGUzOGNlMDU0ZjcwYjJhMjcwYtIBjAFodHRwczovL2FtcC5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9zcG9ydC9zcG9ydHMtbGlmZS9hdXNzaWUtd3dlLXN0YXItcmhlYS1yaXBsZXktcmV2ZWFscy1oZXItYmlnZ2VzdC1yZWdyZXQvbmV3cy1zdG9yeS9hN2VhNzQ3ODdlM2ZjNGUzOGNlMDU0ZjcwYjJhMjcwYg?oc=5
2021-08-20 19:30:00Z
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