Rhea Ripley Draws Line Between 'Genuine' Fans And Autograph Seekers Looking For A Profit

A tweet from Rhea Ripley on Monday got a bit of attention, as the WWE star called out memorabilia resellers who stake out airports with items that they ask wrestlers to sign. She said that from now on she is only signing "a personal photo of us" in airports and similar encounters with "genuine fans." A PWInsider report added that WWE talent in general is cutting back on signing obvious resale items such as trading cards and toys. Ripley later expanded on her tweet in an interview with USA Network's USA Insider, detailing how much of a problem this has become.

"We fly around so much and we travel so much," she explained, detailing how the collectible flippers tend to ask WWE talent to sign large quantities of items while they're rushing through airports. "I was running late to work this morning because I landed so late and I've got to be here at a certain time, and sometimes we just can't sign it all."

As for the what led to the tweet on Monday, Ripley laid out what happened: A fan followed her after she refused to sign the usual suspects of WWE collectibles.

"It was one fan specifically, he's notorious," she said. "He's always at the airport getting our signatures and selling them on eBay. We know his face, we know who he is. He was the main instigator. He followed me out and others followed him, too, and they all followed me as I'm trying to find my Uber. So I'm trying to tell them no, and they're all being persistent and I ended up getting lost. I had no idea where my Uber was, and I ended up down the stairs away from everyone else and I'm just surrounded by these five guys and they're just hassling me.  I don't think people understand how threatening that is. Especially because you don't know what's going to happen. I don't know these people."