AEW and NXT Wednesday Night Wars: 3 winners of night #9

Rhea Ripley

If Rhea Ripley’s win over Charlotte Flair on SmackDown and her victories at NXT TakeOver: WarGames and Survivor Series didn’t set off alarm bells in your head that a top babyface push is in her immediate future, then maybe the pair of loud “Rhea” chants that rang through the Full Sail Arena this past Wednesday did.

We first heard it when Ripley ran off Dakota Kai before Kai could wallop Candice LeRae with a steel chair and they perked up again when she confronted NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler later in the show; they were among the most boisterous chants on the telecast.

Those reactions to Ripley are just as much a reflection of how well the NXT writers have curated Ripley’s character since coming over from NXT UK as it is a testament to the 23-year-old’s wrestling aptitude.

Transitioning a cool, no-nonsense heel that the fans have grown fond of into a legitimate babyface is a tightrope act that often ends with WWE falling to the safety net, but the NXT group deserves credit for presenting Ripley as a decent human being without sacrificing what made the fans connect with her in the first place.

She’s also a great foil for Baszler; as the video above shows, she matches the champion in stature and has no problem daring Baszler to put her bravado to the test. With Baszler going scorched earth on the rest of the women’s division, Ripley winning the championship from her seems like a formality, but it’s good to know that the crowd’s love for the performer lines up with the company’s future plans for her.