Triple H laid down some heavy praise on Rhea Ripley prior to NXT TakeOver 31.
Rhea Ripley approached Triple H to request a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship and received tremendous words of affirmation from the Kings of Kings instead.
“I've never seen anyone come here and step into a place that big, that fast. When you walked through that door and you walked up to somebody as dominant as Shayna Baszler and said, 'no, this is my house now' and then backed all of it up and beat her,” Triple H on the pre-TakeOver Q&A. “You went to WrestleMania in probably the worst circumstances that you could probably have ever expected in an empty arena in front of no one to face, arguably one of the greatest women's competitors ever in Charlotte Flair. Some people would say that was a setback.
“I don't see it as a setback. I see it as a point in time when you proved yourself more than any other time that you did, that you were as good as you said you are. Things didn't go exactly the way you wanted them to in those moments, but to me, you proved that Rhea Ripley is every bit as good as she said she was.”
He would go on to say that within five years, Rhea Ripley will be the top star in WWE.
"It's one thing to say somebody is good today. It's one thing to say where they will be tomorrow. If I had to be a betting man and lay money down and look across the board of everybody in this industry three years from now, five years from now, what is the layout at the top? [points to Rhea Ripley] Number one."
Ripley has some competition at the top with the returning Ember Moon and Toni Storm. Keep up with everything happening on NXT TakeOver 31 with Fightful's live coverage. Also, check out the post-show podcast for a full recap of all the action.
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