Rhea Ripley appeared on “My Love Letter To Wrestling with Mark Andrews” to discuss a wide range of topics including the decision to change up her gimmick while in WWE NXT.
She stated that the decision came around the time she faced Shayna Baszler, which changed the trajectory of her career.
Rhea said, “A lot of things really. It was sort of the whole year between the Mae Young Classic I and II. I went through a lot mentally behind the scenes. I was having troubles at home. I was having troubles at work. I hated myself. I was very mentally weak at that time. I just didn’t feel like I was good enough. I was constantly being told that I wasn’t good enough and I had to do something to improve it.”
“I was on the chopping block a couple times and nearly got booted,” she continued. “I just had a lot going on and I was very down. I want to say, at that six month period, I was like, ‘You know what? Stop this. I don’t care what anybody thinks about me. All they’re going to do is judge me anyway.’”
“I had to change my mental game completely. I started going to a gym which is the first gym I’ve ever signed up for. I was terrified. I don’t like being around people, so I was absolutely terrified.”
“We have this thing called car wash where you take photos and videos leading up to the Mae Young Classic so we can get all the footage we need. I rocked up in this new gear. I got my haircut of course. Everyone of the coaches were like, ‘What’s this?’ I said, ‘The new Rhea Ripley.’ They were like ‘Okay.’ I knew that okay was like, ‘This is your a**. If it doesn’t work…’ I didn’t care. This was my one shot. This was my one opportunity that I have to take and I have to do it my way. If it works, it works, and I can shove it in their faces. If it doesn’t, then I’ll leave myself.”
H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription
