Earlier this year, Charlotte Flair surprised many at WrestleMania by defeating NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley. Flair would later drop the belt to Io Shirai, who pinned Rhea Ripley in a triple threat. During a media call, Triple H said that Flair losing the belt without being pinned was long-term storytelling and urged disgruntled fans to let the story play out. However, that story clearly never happened as Flair never appeared on the brand again and Triple H was asked about it during today’s NXT TakeOver: WarGames press call.
“Everything changed,” Triple H said of their plans for Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley after WrestleMania. The NXT head honcho noted the unpredictable nature of the coronavirus pandemic and how he never thought that’d we’d still be in lockdown come December. As a result, WWE isn’t able to commit fully to some of its long-term storytelling plans. “It’s hard to plan for next week, let alone next year or next month.”
Despite Ripley’s plans being sidelined, Triple H believes that this year has seen the former NXT Women’s Champion improve greatly.
“[When you’re young] it doesn’t take much to go from an incredible high to an incredible low and begin to question yourself,” Triple H explained. “That’s part of maturing in any sport. It’s all part of the process. I truly believe long-term, it’s all valuable … The Rhea Ripley that I’m watching now is better than when she was [at WrestleMania]. She’s a better performer, more mature, and it came through that process.”
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Check out the full call with Triple H below:
