Rhea Ripley Expressed Strong Desire to Headline WrestleMania 39 But Accepts Outcome

Rhea Ripley expressed her understanding of why her WrestleMania 39 match against Charlotte Flair did not close out the first night of the event.

Although there was a significant push from some fans for their match to be the night’s main event, the honor ultimately went to the tag team match featuring Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn versus The Usos.

While speaking to Fightful, Ripley talked about her desire to headline WrestleMania, especially after winning the Royal Rumble, but she recognized the compelling narrative surrounding the Owens & Zayn and The Usos match that captivated audiences, including her own family.

“Yeah. I mean, obviously I understand why we weren’t the main event. I do. I have to give it to the guys. They had a very compelling story going into WrestleMania to the point that Mami was interested and Mami wanted to see who was gonna come up victorious.”

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She expressed no ill will towards the participants of the actual main event but admitted to feeling a tinge of jealousy over not being in that coveted closing spot.

“Obviously being the Royal Rumble winner, I wanted that main event spot so extremely bad. So going out there as the semi-main, I did have a point to prove. I wanted to show everyone that we could have main evented if given the opportunity to have a proper build to WrestleMania. So I understand. I completely understand. No hate to the boys, but was a little bit jealous.”

In addition to discussing the WrestleMania lineup, Ripley also touched upon her achievement of being awarded the Women’s World Championship, underscoring her significant accomplishments within the wrestling industry.

Do you think Rhea Ripley deserved to headline night 1 of WrestleMania last year? Let us know in the comments below.