For the first time since May of this year, Rhea Ripley will get to defend her Women’s World Championship at Payback 2023 premium live event. The ongoing rivalry with Raw Superstar Raquel Rodriguez will finally produce a match between the two after the two were reportedly snubbed at the bygone Summerslam event.
As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw, Rhea Ripley made quick work of Candice LeRae in a singles contest. Soon after the submission victory, Raquel Rodriguez came out and declared that she’s finally been medically cleared to compete after weeks of waiting.
It was also revealed that WWE official Adam Pearce sanctioned her a match against Ripley for the Women’s World Title at Payback 2023. This comes after Raquel suffered a storyline knee injury at the hands of Ripley before SummerSlam with two consecutive attacks. The kayfabe injury was also the reason why Raquel and Liv Morgan lost the women’s tag team titles to Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville.
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“It’s gonna be Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez at #WWEPayback! I am going to take that #WWE Women’s World Championship!” – @RaquelWWE to @RheaRipley_WWE #WWERaw pic.twitter.com/suCX6iP7pF
— WWE India (@WWEIndia) August 22, 2023
Originally, Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez was supposed to go down at Summerslam but time constraints at the bygone PLE was the reported reason behind the cancellation. At Payback 2023, these two behemoth female talents will finally be unleashed to settle the score, and the same will be the case for Becky Lynch and Trish Stratus.
The fourth match between these two long-term rivals has also been announced to go down at Payback 2023. During a segment on Raw, Trish mentioned how Becky Lynch won’t survive the Steel Cage Match waiting at the PLE. Becky informed in return that she will take down Trish’s ally Zoey Stark in a Falls Count Anywhere match on next week’s Raw.
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It finally ends in a steel cage!#WWERAW #WWEPayback pic.twitter.com/i4kB5q8eBE
— WWE on TNT Sports (@wweontnt) August 22, 2023
Also, the next title defense for the World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins has also been announced for Payback 2023 against Shinsuke Nakamura. In a promo, the challenger mentioned the injuries that Rollins is dealing with for a long time which might allow him to become the new champion at the PLE.
WWE Payback 2023 PLE Match Card
World Heavyweight Champion @WWERollins defends against @ShinsukeN one week from Saturday at #WWEPayback! pic.twitter.com/VZnzPEmL9J
— WWE (@WWE) August 22, 2023
WWE Payback 2023 premium live event will take place at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The confirmed matches for the PLE are given below:
– WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match: Seth Rollins (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
– WWE Women’s World Championship Match: Rhea Ripley (c) vs. Raquel Rodriguez
– Steel Cage Match: Trish Stratus vs. Becky Lynch