What Is the Deal With Rhea Ripley’s Injury?!

Rhea Ripley is the unofficial leader of the Judgement Day in the WWE. A powerhouse and one of the most ruthless wrestlers on the roster, Ripley has become a fan favorite. So when an injury in April took her out and took the title belt away from her, fans were worried.

During a backstage brawl with Liv Morgan, Ripley was thrown into a wall and didn’t have time to protect her shoulder properly. This resulted in an injury to the AC joint there and put Ripley on the bench. The WWE insists that Ripley’s AC joint is what took her out of the ring but fans have a different theory, and have decided that this is more of a storyline choice.

Fans are speculating because since the injury, Ripley has appeared on podcasts wearing a brace on her wrist. She also wrestled at Wrestlemania 40 with an injured wrist. So the theory is that Ripley’s actual injury is tied to her wrist, and that the WWE made it part of her story via the wall stunt. Either way, Ripley has had to give up her Women’s World Champion title as a result.

Ripley previously had a 380-day reign before she had to forfeit the title due to her injury. Becky Lynch holds that title now. Ripley and Lynch went head to head at Wrestlemania 40 and we all now want to know if we are going to see a rematch between them. Where things could get interesting is in what this means for the future of Ripley’s reign

Will she have her title back?

Right now, Ripley’s injury (if it really is her shoulder) will require a healing process of around 3 months. Whether the WWE would clear her to return right then and there, we don’t know and, in the meantime, Becky Lynch still has that title over Ripley. But Ripley is, along with Lynch, currently one of the biggest stars in female wrestling. Keeping her on the bench doesn’t seem like a thing the WWE would want to do willingly.

When Ripley does return, she is going to have to fight for her title (and potentially her man) back. Ripley is with Dominik Mysterio but rumors suggest he might have eyes for Liv Morgan, making for a very juicy storyline when Ripley does recover.

For now, it is looking like a three-month healing process for Ripley but if her shoulder isn’t really what was injured, maybe we could see her return sooner rather than later. She is scheduled to show up at Fanatics Fest alongside Cody Rhodes in August but that isn’t a wrestling event. So whether that is a part of a timeline for Ripley’s return, we do not know.