Rhea Ripley is finally explaining what really sent her to the emergency room, and it all came down to a freak accident with her dog.
While speaking with Stephanie McMahon on What’s Your Story?, Ripley revealed that her dog Barry caused the injury by accident while they were playing. She explained that Barry got excited, slid under her while she was jumping over him, and one tooth caught her leg in the worst possible way.
“Barry. My Barry boy, you know, sometimes he just gets so excited and he doesn’t understand that his teeth are sharp and he opens his mouth. So like I was playing with him and I definitely riled him up and I started jumping over him and I did one jump. But he also slid at the same time, and as he slid, he opened his mouth to turn and just had a big excitement. And my leg just got caught on his one tooth, like just one singular tooth.”
Ripley said the cut happened so perfectly that it likely could not be repeated. She looked down and immediately knew it was deep because she could see yellow flesh before the wound even started bleeding.
“It was so perfect it couldn’t happen again. And it just instantly split my leg open and I looked down. I just stopped. I looked down and all I can see is yellow flesh. It’s not even bleeding. So I’m like, I know it’s deep and it’s like I just have fat hanging out. And I was like, ‘Oh God damn it.’”
The injury also made Ripley think about how fragile humans really are compared to dogs, especially after seeing how rough dogs can be with each other without reacting the same way.
“Yeah, it makes me think like, we are really insignificant in the food chain. Like if they really wanted to hurt us, they could. And it’s wild. Like, our skin is so thin and fragile. I’ve seen my dogs fight, and they grab each other’s skin, and they’re not even fazed by it. Like, his tooth just nicked my leg and I was cut open. Yeah, it was bad.”
Ripley then said Barry seemed to understand something was wrong after she came home from the hospital with stitches. She let him smell the wound, and he immediately looked upset.
“But then, like, when I came home from the hospital with the stitches and stuff, I let him smell it and he smelled it. And he literally just sat there… he looks really like an old depressed man. Like he gets the posture and everything. He knew something happened, he just didn’t know what. And he felt so terrible. I could just tell.”
Ripley made it clear she was not angry at Barry, because she knew she had riled him up and tried to jump over him in the first place: “And then they would suck him up for the rest of the day. And I was like, you’re fine. I’m not angry. I riled you up. I tried to jump over you. Like, I know I shouldn’t probably do that.”
The explanation comes after fans became concerned when Buddy Matthews posted a photo of Ripley in a hospital bed following the April 6, 2026 episode of WWE RAW. Ripley later revealed on Instagram that she had suffered a serious cut and needed stitches. Before showing the injury, Ripley warned people with weak stomachs not to look at her next story.
“What an eventful day. If you have a weak stomach or don’t like injuries, don’t look at my next story. Nice little detour to the emergency room for me today.”
Now, Ripley has cleared up exactly what happened. It was not a wrestling injury or a backstage accident — it was a perfectly unlucky moment with Barry’s tooth during playtime. Rhea Ripley clearly does not blame her dog for the injury, but the accident was bad enough to send her to the hospital and require stitches. Thankfully, she has been able to laugh about it now, even if the whole thing looked brutal at the time.
What do you think about Rhea Ripley’s wild dog injury story? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments.
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