Rhea Ripley’s match against Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 39 was well received by most wrestling fans and legends, including former WWE personality Dutch Mantell.
Ripley defeated Flair on the first night of WrestleMania 39 to capture the SmackDown Women’s Championship. The 23-minute fight was widely viewed as one of the best of the two-night event.
Mantell, fka Zeb Colter in WWE, discussed the impressive match on his Storytime with Dutch Mantell podcast:
“Going into the match, I didn’t have high expectations, but I was blown away, and in the end I had to admit that it was hands down the best women’s match, or ladies’ match, I’ve ever seen. They picked the right setting to do it, and it was the right time to change the belt from Charlotte to Rhea.” [1:25 – 1:50]
Flair vs. Ripley was ranked sixth on the eight-game card. Many expected the SmackDown Women’s Championship match to headline WrestleMania on Saturday. However, that honor went to The Usos vs. Kevin Owens and Sammy Zayn.
Dutch Mantell compares Rhea Ripley to Gunther and Roman Reigns
Although she occasionally receives positive reactions from fans, Rhea Ripley still holds up as one of the best alongside Dominik Mysterio and The Judgment Day.
Mantell believes that WWE should organize events around the main villains of the company:
“Roman’s hot, Gunther’s hot, Rhea and Dominik are hot. If you’ve got three hot heels like that, you don’t need anyone else. That’s your card. If you go to a city with six matches, they’ll be in three or four.” . [3:58 – 4:18]
In a separate interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling, Mantell also gave his thoughts on why Cody Rhodes vs. Roman Reigns could take place again.
Do you think Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley was the best women’s wrestling of all time? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Please credit Story Time to Dutch Mantell and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcript if you use quotes from this article.
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