In an interview with Newsweek, new NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley talked about her favorite moments from her main event win against longtime former champion Shayna Baszler. Calling back to her TakeOver bout, Rhea remembers a particular kick out that had the fans reeling. She was down for the count after a ref bump, with Shayna wailing on her with a chair. “When [the ref] finally woke up and I still kicked out, everyone went bloody ballistic. When I was laying there I was tired and sore, but I thought, ‘this is really cool and amazing right now. We got them.”
Rhea also talked about grabbing the referee to demand that he keeps the match going after suffering in Shayna’s Kirifuda Clutch. “I’m a very sassy sort of character, so when I grabbed Brewer I was feeling it. I was totally in that moment.”
After winning the title, Rhea read lots of comments about the match, and stated that she didn’t appreciate fans who called her worthy opponent “boring.”
She’s a heel, she’s not supposed to be exciting. She’s not supposed to make you like her. She’s not supposed to do any of that stuff. She’s doing her job right. And I hate when people disrespect that fact. So to go out there and put on a match like that with Shayna and prove to everyone how wrong [they are about] not only me but her as well, it’s a feeling that can’t be matched. I just love proving people wrong.
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