Andrew Ravens
Rhea Ripley is on the shelf, and WWE is already making adjustments across its SmackDown women’s division as a result.
The reigning WWE Women’s Champion is dealing with a knee injury that was acknowledged on the June 12 episode of SmackDown, when commentary noted she was being evaluated after hurting the knee around the time of Clash in Italy. No return timeline has been provided.
According to WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select, the injury has prompted significant creative shuffling, not only for Ripley’s own direction but also for a number of women on the SmackDown roster whose plans have been adjusted in anticipation of her potentially missing an extended stretch of programming.
The first visible sign of that reshuffling came with WWE’s promotional material for Night of Champions on June 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The original event poster featured Ripley alongside Cody Rhodes, Liv Morgan, and Trick Williams. WWE has since updated the graphic, removing Ripley and replacing her with Women’s United States Champion Tiffany Stratton.
Stratton has not been formally announced for a match at Night of Champions as of this writing, and her addition to the poster does not guarantee she will compete at the event. Ripley herself had not been formally announced for the card before being removed from the artwork.
Ripley captured the WWE Women’s Championship from Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 42 in April, making her one of the central figures in WWE’s women’s title picture heading into the summer. SummerSlam on August 1 and 2 in Minneapolis is the next major target on the calendar, and WWE would ideally want Ripley available for that event. Jacy Jayne had reportedly been discussed internally as a potential SummerSlam challenger for the title before the injury complicated those plans. How WWE navigates the championship picture in Ripley’s absence will be one of the more closely watched storyline developments heading into the summer.
