Rhea Ripley Match Reportedly Penciled In For WWE SummerSlam 2023

As WWE continues their internal discussions for SummerSlam, another match has reportedly been added to the potential slate. According to Dave Meltzer of "Wrestling Observer Radio," Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Rodriguez is likely to unfold at WWE's hottest show of the summer. 

"They're not there yet [with the story], but that match was penciled in last week," Meltzer said.

Since winning the "WWE SmackDown" Women's Championship, which has since been rebranded into the Women's World Championship, Ripley has bounced back and forth between her storyline with Natalya and her ongoing work with the Judgement Day. Following her latest title defense against Natalya on the July 3 episode of "WWE Raw," Ripley began attacking the "Queen of Harts" in the ring until Unified WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan rushed down to stop her. Upon their arrival, Rodriguez and Ripley engaged in a brief staredown before Ripley retreated up the entrance ramp.

This moment comes two weeks after Ripley and Rodriguez exchanged some fiery words backstage ahead of Rodriguez's Money in the Bank qualifying match against Trish Stratus. There, Rodriguez issued a stern warning to "The Eradicator," claiming that Ripley "isn't ready" to face her. Should Ripley and Rodriguez go one-on-one at SummerSlam, it will mark their first televised singles match since January 2021, when the two battled in a Last Woman Standing match on "WWE NXT."

With the addition of Ripley vs Rodriguez, the tally of potential SummerSlam bouts has now risen to eight. Other notable possibilities include Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso, and Logan Paul vs. Ricochet.