Rhea Ripley Reveals She Was ‘Put On The Chopping Block’ And Nearly Released From WWE Multiple Times

Rhea Ripley has revealed she was nearly released from WWE multiple times in the early years of her career, saying the period between the first and second Mae Young Classic tournaments was the toughest of her professional life.

Speaking in a video for Topps while opening trading card packs, Ripley opened up about the moment she turned things around.

“When it was in between the first Mae Young and the second Mae Young Classic, I really went through this real tough period where I lost myself, and I was really struggling, and I didn’t think that I would make it here in the WWE. I got pretty much put on the chopping block a couple of times, and it’s like, I just had a talk to myself, and I was like, stop trying to please everyone. Like just do what you think is right and be yourself, and at least, if you don’t make it, you bet on yourself, and you bet on the true self that you are.”

Ripley also revealed in the same video that she had to change her autograph early in her career after realising it looked too similar to Roman Reigns’ signature — both sharing the initials RR. She pulled a signed Reigns card during the pack opening and said: “That is the signature that I wanted to do since we are both RR, and I couldn’t because thank you, Roman. It’s the easiest.”

Ripley defends the WWE Women’s Championship against Jade Cargill at Clash in Italy on Sunday.