Rhea Ripley Says WWE Fans’ Tribute to Her Late Grandmother Almost Made Her Cry

WWE’s Rhea Ripley shared an emotional reaction to the fans’ tribute to her late grandmother.

WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley’s grandparents lived in Italy before emigrating to Australia. Ahead of the Clash in Italy, Ripley took to social media to explain how special the event is for her, as she gets to compete where her grandparents grew up and visit a home she never got to experience.

Rhea Ripley’s Grandmother passed away in April 2023, and she paid an emotional tribute to her with a special ring gear at Clash in Italy. WWE also played a clip of Ripley talking about her on Stephanie McMahon’s podcast during the PLE’s pre-show, and fans reacted to it by erupting in loud “Nonna” (Italian for Grandmother) chants.

Taking to X/Twitter, Rhea Ripley expressed her deep appreciation for the gesture from the Italian fans. She wrote, “I literally want to cry… Thank you Italy!”

Rhea Ripley emerged victorious in a hard-fought match against Jade Cargill to retain the WWE Women’s Championship. While she faced some trouble with B-Fab and Michin’s interference, she pulled it off with some help from Charlotte Flair, who interfered to get retribution for Cargill attacking her tag team partner, Alexa Bliss, on last week’s SmackDown.