To paraphrase Corey Graves on the Night of Champions commentary team, Rhea Ripley doesn't get paid by the minute.

After entering into a feud with Natalya after a perceived slight from “The Eradicator of The Judgement Day” in the respect department, Ripley never quite took Neidhart seriously as a challenger for the SmackDown Women's Championship, and that opinion continued on at Night of Champions, when Ripley secured the win in a matter of minutes while Dominik Mysterio laughed about it on the outside.

Taking the ring on her birthday, a 41-year-old Natalya immediately started taking shots from Ripley, taking damage inside the ring, taking damage outside of the ring, and even getting into it a bit, at least verbally, with Mysterio before the champ imposed her will and secured the pin with her signature Riptide finisher.

Was this a good match? Technically no, nothing particularly impressive happened, and, considering the length of the contest, that was likely by design. Still, from a storytelling standpoint, the match did what it needed to, with Ripley securing the win, looking like an all-time Superstar, and even having some fun with Mysterio in the process, holding him as they both talked smack on their fallen foe.

With Bianca Belair's championship reign ended, the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship vacated, and the NXT Women's Championship set to be decided at NXT Battleground, Ripley is now the second-longest tenured women's champion in WWE, trailing just Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn for the top spot by one day. Based on her win over Natalya at Night of Champions, it would appear Ripley's champion status isn't going to change any time soon.