Raquel Rodriguez says she wanted to remind Rhea Ripley who she was dealing with.
On the August 21 episode of WWE Raw, Rodriguez announced that she was medically cleared, and she will challenge Rhea Ripley for the Women's World Championship at WWE Payback. The next night, at NXT Heatwave, Rodriguez attacked Ripley during her match, where she and Dominik Mysterio faced Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyria. Her interference cost the duo the bout, as Lee pinned Mysterio.
In an NXT Digital Exclusive, Rodriguez, a former NXT Women's Champion, commented on her return and made it clear that she wanted to send Ripley a message.
“As of yesterday, I have been medically cleared for action, and I made my point pretty obvious to Rhea when I went out there and announced to her that it will be her versus me at Payback for the Women’s World Championship. So I came here tonight because I wanted to remind Rhea who she’s messing with. Not too long ago, we had our Last Woman Standing Match in this arena, and I put her through that stage floor. I plan on doing the same thing at Payback. She will be looking up at Raquel Rodriguez, your winner and your new Women’s World Champion," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez left NXT and moved to WWE SmackDown in April 2022. She returned to NXT on the October 18, 2022, episode, where she lost to Cora Jade via disqualification.
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