When Rhea Ripley took the stage at WrestleMania 40, she looked like the most confident woman in the world.
Wearing big-money gear, walking down to the ring with the singer of her favorite band, Chris Motionless, and ultimately fighting to keep her title reign unblemished with a massive win over Becky Lynch, Ripley truly looked like one of the biggest stars in the world today but as it turns out, what fans see isn't always what it seems, as behind the scenes, Mami was freaking out, worried about how things would shake out even if she had no reason to be.
Discussing her experience in an interview at the WWE World of WrestleMania in Philadelphia before Monday Night RAW, Ripley explained that she had a panic attack a few hours before the show and was incredibly nervous about her match, even if fans didn't see it.
“It's quite funny how this whole thing works in this crazy world. I legit was having a straight-up panic attack two hours before I walked through the curtain, and I was violently shaking, just nervous,” Rhea Ripley explained via Fightful. “If you don't get nervous before you go out, especially at WrestleMania, you obviously don't love it enough. That's the way I think about it. So I'm glad the nerves were there. But at the same time, that was sort of taking over my body. So when I got to step through into the stage with the band Motionless in White, all those nerves that I had just sort of flew away. I was in the zone, I was moshing out like it was a little mosh pit. I was living in the moment, and that's what I love about this business. We get to live in the moment a lot of the time. I just snap into Rhea Ripley, and I'm instantly comfortable, instantly ready to go and ready to fight.”
Wow, while it's never okay to say, “Good on Ripley for toughing it out,” as everyone experiences their mental health differently, the fact that she was able to put on one of the better matches at WrestleMania 40 while under so much emotional distress is frankly remarkable. Sure, Ripley is a heel and will probably never be a normal babyface, but at this point, her efforts are worthy of admiration for her openness to discussing her feelings alone.
Rhea Ripley was proud to share the stage with Motionless in White.
Speaking of Rhea Ripley's efforts with Motionless in White, Mami was asked in a WWE Digital Exclusive segment what it was like to walk down to the ring with her favorite band, to which the “Eradicator” gave a glowing review to Scranton's finest.
“That was a dream come true. I know we talk about WrestleMania and how everyone works so hard to compete on this grand stage and also it being WrestleMania XL, the biggest WrestleMania. I'm so glad and so happy and so privileged and just so ecstatic that I got to share that with Motionless In White. The moshes, they know how much I love Motionless In White,” Rhea Ripley told WWE via Fightful.
“I love Chris Motionless and how we have been compared to each other for a very long time. We look like twins, and I absolutely love it. It's mostly because I've been watching his music videos since I was in like high school. So I've gradually just morphed into him without even meaning to as well. Like I just cut my hair. I was like, Oh, Oh crap. We look the same. So to be able to actually have them here and, and bring music and wrestling together and have that special moment with my absolute top notch favorite band. It's something that I'm never going to forget. I don't think I'm ever going to live down, like it's, big enough that I get to be a part of WrestleMania XL. I get to go out there with The Man Becky Lynch, someone that I've looked up to for a long, long time, someone who I've admired for a long, long time. But to go out there with Chris and the rest of the Motionless In White and how that moment where we were singing to each other. Yeah, it was a very special moment for me and I hope that it was just as special for them because I love them boys and they're also lovely as well. So it's great to share it with them.”
Though Bayley didn't get to walk down to the ring with Paramore, seeing Ripley do the same with Motionless in White was the next best thing, as it gave one of WWE's young stars a true WrestleMania moment at the promotion's biggest show of the year. And to think, she was in the middle of a breakdown a few hours earlier. Incredible stuff.
Follow Us
Subscribe