Rhea Ripley paid special tribute to the late Hall of Famer with her ring gear at WWE Payback

May 2024 · 2 minute read

Rhea Ripley faced her old rival, Raquel Rodriguez, at Payback as she defended her Women’s World title. However, before her match, she came out to help the Judgment Day members win their match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. During the ringside attack, fans noticed that Rhea had a unique ring gear on, which was based on the ring gear of WWE Hall of Famer Chyna.

This was confirmed later when she walked out for her match against Raquel Rodriguez. Rhea Ripley paid homage to Chyna, who was known to be one of the most impactful female superstars of her time. Rhea’s gear was studded with diamonds and sparkles, similar to how Chyna used to wear during the Attitude Era. She was most notable for her work as a member of DX.

Chyna is considered a trailblazer by many superstars from the past as well as the present. However, she would unfortunately part ways with WWE after the Attitude Era, never to return again. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019 as a member of Degeneration-X along with Triple H, Shawn Michaels, the New Age Outlaws, and X-Pac.

Therefore, Rhea Ripley’s homage to Chyna was a moving show of respect. Ripley would go on to retain her title against Rodriguez, with a little help from Dirty Dom towards the end of the match. However, Rodriguez revealed after the match that she was not done with Ripley and would strike back for the title again.

Related: WATCH: Michael Cole’s hilarious reaction to Rhea Ripley spearing Kevin Owens at WWE Payback that you didn’t see on TV

WWE Hall of Famer Torrie Wilson praises Rhea Ripley following Payback

Rhea Ripley and the Entity of Judgment had a great outing at Payback. That is because all members of the faction now hold championship gold in WWE. Finn Balor and Damian Priest defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn for the tag titles. Dominik Mysterio, who is the North American Champion, helps his members win their respective matches.

Finally, Rhea Ripley retained her title against Raquel Rodriguez later in the night. The performance is getting a lot of acclaim from fans online. WWE Hall of Famer Torrie Wilson was also one of them who tweeted, “Mami for President.” Her tweet was reposted by Ripley in a funny exchange. Therefore, it is evident that Ripley is popular among all-comers in the industry.

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