Why Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair needs to happen at WrestleMania

Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley has been rumored for WWE WrestleMania. On Monday Night Raw, Ripley showed up to challenge Flair.

When Charlotte Flair won the Women’s Royal Rumble match, the WWE Universe let out a collective groan. As winner of the Rumble, “The Queen” has her choice at any title at WrestleMania. Her options seemed to be either Bayley or Becky Lynch. Lynch even joked about the number of times they’ve face each other in a backstage promo.

Then, rumors started swirling that Flair would actually be challenging the NXT Champion, Rhea Ripley. The groaning stopped. Ripley showed up on Monday Night RAW dangling her title in “The Queen’s” face. This is a match that fans actually want. It’s different. Ripley has never faced Flair in a title match or someone of Flair’s caliber one-on-one.

*insert Dave Batista “Give me what I want!” meme*

Ripley vs. Flair would elevate the NXT Championship to new heights. WWE has been touting (no pun intended) NXT as being equal to Monday Night RAW and Friday Night SmackDown since they moved to USA.

Having the title defended on their biggest show of the year will solidify the importance of the NXT Championship. The NXT Championship has never been defended at WrestleMania before. Having a 10-time champion wrestle for it makes it a big deal.

A WrestleMania match is the ultimate rub for Ripley. The Aussie has been on a tear the last few months. She has taken every opportunity she’s been given and has ran with it. Rewarding her with the NXT Championship in December seemed to be the highest point.

Defending her title at WrestleMania is the highest honor she’ll have had in her young WWE career. Ripley is a star and wrestling one of the best will solidify this even more.

Flair needs this match too. The WWE Universe is at their quota of Flair vs. Lynch matches. Flair vs. Bayley isn’t the right match either. “The Queen” needs new opponents. She’s beaten the best and needs new challenges.

In all honesty, most of her match-ups have gotten stale. A feud with Ripley will reinvigorate her. It will make fans pay attention and care about what’s happening with her. Flair held the NXT Women’s Championship in 2014 and held the title for 258 days. Can Charlotte become champion for the 11th time?

On Wednesday night tonight, Flair will make her return to the black-and-gold brand where she’ll address Ripley’s challenge. Something to keep in mind: Ripley is scheduled to face Bianca Belair for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: Portland on February 16.