Rhea Ripley

Rhea Ripley
Birth name Demi Bennett
Born (1996-10-11) 11 October 1996
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Residence Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Demi Bennet
Demi Bennett
Demiti Bennett
Rhea Ripley
Billed height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Billed weight 137 lb (62 kg)
Trained by WWE Performance Center
Sara Amato
Debut 29 June 2013

Demi Bennett (born 11 October 1996) is an Australian professional wrestler currently signed with the WWE, where she works in their developmental territory NXT UK brand under the ring name Rhea Ripley.[1] She is the inaugural and current NXT UK Women's Champion.

Bennett has worked also for other Australian promotions such as Professional Wrestling Alliance and Riot City Wrestling. She also worked in Japan, working in promotions like Pro Wrestling Zero1, REINA or Diana.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2013-2017)

Ripley began to work in Riot City Wrestling in 2013. She spent several years in the promotion, where she became a two-time RCW Women's Champion.[2] Bennett's New Horizon Pro Wrestling debut was made on May 24, 2014 at during the opening night of the NHPW Global Conflict where she joined the Global Conflict Tournament. She was eliminated during the first round of the tournament by Mercedes Martinez.[3] She returned for the second night of the NHPW Global Conflict event, competing in a four way mixed tag team match paired with Garry Schmidt.[3] Six months later, Bennett returned and was part of the opening night of the NHPW Final Chapter event, wrestling a Four Way Match against Madison Eagles, Evie and Saraya Knight with the vacant IndyGurlz Australia Championship at stake. However, Bennett did not win the title.[3]

Bennett made her Melbourne City Wrestling debut in on June 14, 2014 at MCW New Horizons where she defended the RCW Women's title in a Three Way match against Savannah Summers and Toni Storm.[4] On August 9 at MCW Clash Of The Titans, Bennett defeated Miami to retain her Women's Championship.[5] Bennett continued her winning streak with a third consecutive victory, defeating Savannah Summers at MCW Fight For A Cause.

On April 22 2017, Bennett wrestled her last RCW match at RCW Strength where she successfully defended the Women's title against Kellyanne.[6]

WWE (2017–present)

In 2017, Bennett signed with the WWE. It was announced that she will compete in the first annual Mae Young Classic under the name Rhea Ripley.[7] Ripley eliminated Miranda Salinas in the first round but lost to Dakota Kai in the second round. She made her NXT television debut on the October 26, 2017 episode of NXT, participating in a battle royal to determine one of the contenders for the vacant NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, which was won by Nikki Cross.

Ripley competed in the second annual Mae Young Classic in 2018 and finished in the semi-finals.[1][8]

At the August 2018 NXT UK tapings in Birmingham, Ripley participated in an eight woman tournament to determine the inaugural NXT UK Women's Champion, in which she won by defeating Toni Storm in the final round, thus becoming the inaugural champion.[9]She is the first Australian woman to hold a championship in WWE.[10]

Personal life

Bennett also excels in other sports such as swimming, karate, rugby, netball and soccer.[7][11] She cites watching The Miz as an inspiration growing up.[12] She is a fan of the Adelaide Football Club.[13]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 Fewster, Sean. "Adelaide's own WWE star, Rhea Ripley, tears through competition in 2018 Mae Young Classic". The Advertiser. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  2. ↑ "Rhea Ripley — Online World of Wrestling". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "NHPW Australia - Past Shows". New Horizon Pro Wrestling. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "2014 - MCW New Horizons (Women's Event)". MCW Encore. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "2014 - MCW Clash of the Titans". MCW Encore. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  6. ↑ Michael, Casey. "Demi Bennett Wrestles Last Match Before Reporting To WWE". Squared Circle Sirens. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  7. 1 2 "20-year-old Australian phenom, Team 3-D Academy alumna added to Mae Young Classic". WWE.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Australia's Rhea Ripley to compete in Mae Young Classic 2018". WWE.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Major news from Sunday night's NXT UK tapings (CAUTION: SPOILERS)". WWE.com. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "History made as Rhea Ripley becomes first Australian woman to win a WWE". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  11. ↑ Williamson, Brett. "Adelaide wrestler Demi Bennett in training for dream career with WWE". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  12. ↑ @ryansatin (September 6, 2018). "1) Rhea Ripley is gonna be a major star in the very near future. 2) Her fun fact being that she grew up watching The Miz made me feel old. #WWEMYC" (Tweet). Retrieved September 12, 2018 – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ @RheaRipley_WWE (September 29, 2017). "Go Crows!!! #AFLGrandFinal2017 #WeFlyAsOne" (Tweet). Retrieved September 12, 2018 – via Twitter.
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