We haven’t spotted Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley on this week’s WWE Raw and WWE had their own storyline reasons to explain her absence. In reality, she’s not in the United States, and that led her to an unprecedented hiatus from weekly WWE TV, last Monday Night.
Commentator Michael Cole stated that following Nia Jax’s vicious attack on Ripley on last week’s episode of WWE Raw, the champion sustained bruised ribs, which explained Ripley’s absence. It was also noted that Ripley’s opponent from that night Raquel Rodriguez also reportedly suffered whiplash after an attack by the returning Nia Jax.
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WWE Raw Star Rhea Ripley spotted in Australia with boyfriend
As spotted on social media, Rhea Ripley has headed to Australia to visit her family, in reality. To maintain the kayfabe aspect of WWE TV, she tried to maintain a low profile but a camera spotted her attending a football league game with her fiancé, AEW wrestler Buddy Matthews. This affirmed that she is vacaying while staying away from WWE Raw and NXT for the time being.
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Spotted a wild Rhea Ripley and Buddy Matthews
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) September 19, 2023
Over on WWE Raw, Rhea Ripley has been a force to be reckoned with since the 2023 edition of Draft. She was drafted to the red brand as the Smackdown Women’s Champion but soon that belt was converted into the Women’s World Championship. Ripley defeated Charlotte Flair on Night Two of Wrestlemania 39 in an absolutely stellar match to win the belt.
Similarly to the queen pin of WWE Raw, the reigning women’s champion IYO SKY also missed the latest bygone episode of Friday Night Smackdown due to her visit to her home country. She wasn’t spotted on Smackdown where Bayley was defeated by Asuka in a singles contest. Dakota Kai’s absence at Bayley’s side didn’t produce the expected positive outcome for DAMAGE CTRL.
Unlike Rhea Ripley on WWE Raw, SKY got the chance to share her visit to Tokyo which explained her absence from Smackdown. In a series of photos posted on Twitter, the reigning women’s champion was seen celebrating her victory with the championship in Tokyo on Twitter. WWE also shared the tweet which had the following caption,
“The WWE Women’s Champion homecoming to Tokyo!!!!”
The WWE Women’s Champion homecoming to Tokyo!!!!✨#shibuya #Japan #IYOSKY #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/PlS5j75akN
— IYO SKY (@Iyo_SkyWWE) September 20, 2023
IYO SKY became WWE Women’s Champion by cashing in her Money in the Bank contract on Bianca Belair at SummerSlam this past August. She will go through a title defense during this week’s Smackdown against the Empress of Tomorrow.
