Charlotte Flair def. Rhea Ripley to become the new NXT Women’s Champion
ORLANDO, Fla. — Ms. WrestleMania has done it again. Charlotte Flair made history by defeating Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania, but the Australian “Nightmare” of the black-and-gold brand made a name for herself, mounting an outstanding if unsuccessful effort against the woman who has come to personify championship excellence in WWE.
In some ways, Ripley was wrestling uphill before the bell even rang. Charlotte does best when the eyes of history are upon her, and she’d already done that by using her Women’s Royal Rumble win to challenge Ripley and bring the NXT Women’s Title to WrestleMania for the first time. Ripley certainly doesn’t lack for confidence, but the distance between the two was quickly apparent, as Ripley struck almost immediately with her signature Riptide, and Flair kicked out at two.
Nonetheless, Ripley rose to the challenge by taking Flair to the limit, but a coordinated attack to Ripley’s knee slowed the champ to a sometimes literal crawl. The Nightmare went down swinging, but she found herself ensnared in a fateful Figure-Eight that forced Ripley to tap. The effort was magnificent, and we now know she’s worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as Charlotte Flair and of sharing the same ring. Defeating her, however, will have to come later.
