CHICAGO — After overcoming a shocking betrayal and a significant numbers disadvantage, Rhea Ripley has left no doubt that Shayna Baszler has been put on notice.
Ripley pinned the NXT Women’s Champion after crushing her with the Riptide through the seat of two steel chairs, claiming victory for her team in the first-ever Women’s WarGames Match.
Hope was seemingly nowhere to be found for Team Ripley just moments earlier with Ripley and Candice LeRae on the wrong end of a 4-on-2 disadvantage, which was caused by Dakota Kai, who committed a heinous backstabbing after subbing in as a last-minute injury replacement for Mia Yim on Team Ripley.
Kai failed to convince Ripley earlier this month that she was worthy of joining her team after a defeat at the hands of Baszler, but The Nightmare had little choice to give the nod to The Captain of Team Kick minutes before bell time when Yim was found left lying after an apparent backstage attack.
When it was time for Kai to join the fray as the third entrant for Team Ripley, Kai stunned the capacity Chicago crowd — not to mention every competitor in the match. Instead of heading to the ring, Kai savagely attacked partner Tegan Nox in their team’s shark cage with no remorse. Ripley could do little but watch in shock from the ring as Kai repeatedly slammed the steel door against Nox’s surgically repaired knee, even ripping off the supportive brace.
That allowed Baszler to enter what was seemingly a fish-in-a-barrel situation as the match’s final contestant. Teaming with Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Kay Lee Ray, The Queen of Spades made use of their advantage to pummel Ripley and LeRae. Hope seemed to be dwindling for Ripley and LeRae, especially when Shirai soared from the top of the WarGames structure through the Chicago sky to take out LeRae and Belair with an awe-inspiring moonsault.
However, Baszler introduced a pair of handcuffs to the match, and her decision to do so led to her demise.
After Ripley swung a garbage can with all of her might to swat an airborne Ray to the canvas, Baszler caught her adversary in the Kirifuda Clutch. Ripley seemed to have little choice left but to submit until she applied one cuff to Baszler and the other to herself. Craftily using them to wriggle herself free, Ripley dodged a kick from Baszler and planted her with the Riptide atop the steel chairs before covering her for the three-count.
Somehow weathering a mutiny and overcoming unforeseeable adversity, Ripley stood tall with LeRae, perhaps definitively making herself the top contender for Baszler’s title.
Article source: WWE.com
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