Rhea Ripley Says She Went Into WrestleMania 39 Match With a ‘Follow That’ Mentality

Rhea Ripley and Charlotte Flair didn’t main event WrestleMania 39 night one, but they went into it intending to set a bar for the rest of the show that followed them. Ripley was a guest on After the Bell with Corey Graves and Kevin Patrick, and she spoke about her Smackdown Women’s Championship match at the show.

While the match didn’t close out the night, Ripley acknowledged that she and Flair went into the match intending to make a statement and said that she felt they stole the show. You can see the highlights below:

On the match being praised by many: “I mean yeah, it is really, really cool, I have to say. It’s epic, and coming out of that match I did feel like we stole the show. Like, I feel we went out there and we left everything we had in that ring. And that’s why we proved to everyone exactly why we should have been in the main event spot. Like yes, we didn’t have a good build like Sami and Owens and the Usos did. But at the same time, Charlotte and I, every time we step in the ring we bring the brutality. We bring the ferociousness. And we go out there and we just beat the living crap out of each other. So I feel like all the praise that we got, it made me happy and made me proud that we went out there and we beat the crap out of each other and people loved it. But yeah, I don’t know. It’s a weird feeling. I get it, I do get it.”

On going into it with a ‘follow that’ mentality: “Yeah, I mean it’s a lot how I felt going into the first women’s WarGames match. We had our WarGames shirts, and it was FTMF [‘Follow That Motherf**kers’]. That’s was printed on the back of them, and that was the same mentality that I had going into this WrestleMania. The day of was a complete mess to me, because I was emotionally [laughs] unstable, I want to say? Because of the lack of sleep and everything coming full circle. But I knew that as soon as my music played and I stepped out of gorilla and into the light with all the fans staring back at me, I knew I was going to switch on. And that’s when the Rhea Ripley you see comes out, and that’s when all my confidence comes rushing through my body and I’m going to go out there and do everything I can to steal the show.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit WWE’s After the Bell with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.