Rhea Ripley recalls Bianca Belair’s WWE WrestleMania 41 injury
Bianca Belair informed Rhea Ripley mid-match at WrestleMania 41 that she suspected a broken finger.
Ripley was a guest on The Ebro Laura Rosenberg Show. She revealed Bianca Belair informed her during the match at WrestleMania 41 that she believed her finger was broken. When further questioned about how much of the match was left after the injury was discovered Ripley estimated it happening around halfway through.
“I might’ve landed on it…You should’ve seen it in the match. We hit the ground and I see her turn around and she goes “I think I broke my finger”. And I’m like ‘Oh, that’s not good.'”
Ripley was asked about the atmosphere heading into her WrestleMania 42 match against Jade Cargill. She claimed there was a lot of hype and pressure given how this was labeled a dream rivalry by many. Ripley explained the need for her to surpass her previous performances at WrestleMania.
“I do. I definitely do. I feel like this is a match that a lot of people have wanted for a long time. Especially at WrestleMania, there’s already so much pressure going into that day, and into that match. And also going off of last year, it was the same at WrestleMania 39 when I faced Charlotte. Then going into WrestleMania 40 I have to do just as well as I did the year before like I really have to.”
Ripley disclosed the added pressure that comes into effect when facing someone like Cargill who doesn’t have extensive experience in the industry. And the role she plays in making Cargill up her game in the match.
“But now stepping in with someone that has only had limited experience within the wrestling industry compared to a lot of people on the show, I do have that pressure to kind of uplift her, and bring her to a different level. So, we can go out there and make magic just like everyone expects from us. We’ll see what happens, you know, it’s unpredictable, wrestling is so unpredictable. Anything can really happen but I know I’m going to go out there and give it 110%, and try and get her to try new things and level up her own game.”
This year, Ripley walks into her seventh consecutive WrestleMania match. At the event last year, she competed in a triple threat match featuring IYO Sky and Belair for the Women’s World Championship. Belair has been out of in-ring action since then.
After winning the Elimination Chamber in February, Ripley earned the opportunity to challenge for the WWE Women’s Championship. However, an online dispute between her and Cargill made their rivalry personal.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.