Rhea Ripley has some news for fans this week, and it’s a mixed bag. The WWE Women’s Champion, sidelined since June with a knee injury, revealed she has undergone surgery to repair it.
Ripley shared the update herself, writing:
“After just under 14 year in wrestling and doing sports my entire life… It’s caught up to me. Surgery was never a first option for me, but it got to the point that it was needed… First one down… Hopefully no more… I’ve survived, now it’s time to start thriving again so I can get back to what I love to do! See you all down the road.”
How We Got Here
Ripley’s last televised match was a successful WWE Women’s Championship defense against Jade Cargill at Clash in Italy on May 31. She worked a couple of European house shows after that before the knee injury, later confirmed as a meniscus tear, forced her out of action. It’s the first surgery of her career.
With Ripley unable to compete, WWE crowned an interim titleholder. Chelsea Green won a five-way ladder match at SummerSlam to claim the Interim WWE Women’s Championship, a match originally built around finding Ripley’s replacement opponent before her recovery timeline pushed things further out.
Ripley remains the reigning WWE Women’s Champion for now, and no return timeline has been given. What happens with the title picture from here is still being sorted out on WWE’s end.
Recovery from a meniscus procedure typically runs anywhere from a couple of months to longer depending on the extent of the repair, so there’s no clear word yet on when Ripley gets back in the ring. For now, fans are just glad to hear the surgery is behind her and that she’s on the way back.
