Rhea Ripley Explains How IYO SKY Was Added to WrestleMania 41 Match

Rhea Ripley dropped the Women’s World Title to IYO SKY a few months ago before WrestleMania 41. This eventually led to a triple threat match at WrestleMania 41 and now Ripley has revealed new details about how all of this happened.

While speaking to Peter Rosenberg, Rhea Ripley was asked about how WWE Unreal revealed that the original plans for WrestleMania 41 had her facing Bianca Belair. She was also asked when she found out IYO SKY would be involved in the match and whether that left her feeling disappointed.

Ripley explained that Triple H pulled her aside before her match with IYO and brought up the idea of the bout potentially becoming a triple threat. He also asked how she felt about losing to IYO that night.

Ripley said it made sense to her since she had never beaten IYO before, and if WWE was building toward a triple threat match, then putting IYO over was logical. She didn’t mind dropping the title but wanted a solid path back into the match herself.

“Hunter pulled me aside before my match with IYO and he’s like, ‘What do you think about it potentially being a triple threat?’

I talked to Hunter and he asked me how I felt about losing to IYO that night, and I was like, ‘I’ve never beaten her, so it makes sense. And if it gets her into… you guys are obviously building it as a triple threat match, then put her over me. I don’t mind dropping the title.’ I wanted a good way to get back into the match so I could be in the triple threat.”

The Eradicator talked about the importance of making sure that every move she made from that point forward supported her inclusion in the eventual triple threat. Without a clear reason for her return to the title picture, she felt fans would turn on her instead of IYO SKY. That pressure made the situation much more difficult for her.

“I really had to make sure that everything I do from here on out makes sense as to why I’d be in there, otherwise I’m going to get completely s*** on now, instead of IYO. So yeah, it made it hard.”

IYO SKY ultimately retained the title at WrestleMania 41 against Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair. However, some fans still feel a singles match between Belair and Ripley would have been a better match, so it remains to be seen if it will happen at WrestleMania 42.

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