WWE Star Rhea Ripley Discusses Her Unique In-Ring Antics

Since she began her WWE career in 2017, Rhea Ripley naturally stood out in the ring due to her brute power, strong presence, and unique in-ring style. Part of that uniqueness also comes from the way she pins her opponents, as she's famously used the pretzel pin instead of hooking the leg. Speaking with "The Wrestling Classic," Ripley revealed where the pin originated from, and what it used to be called before she arrived in WWE. 

"I've been doing the pin since I was a child in Australia. I don't know, it's something that like I just kept going like back home we called it the sexy pin, and I just thought it was really funny." Ripley also commented on some of her in-ring antics over the past year, such as her viral stink face moment against Nia Jax at a WWE house show, as well as licking both Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio on live television. 

"The stink face, it was like kind of spur of the moment to see how far I would go. Little bit of chatter about it beforehand but I didn't know how comfortable I was going to be in that moment ... I was like what do I do before the stink face, and I started like thinking too much in my head and then I was like you know what, I'm just gonna do it." Ripley continued by sharing how the stink face moment felt awkward, but she was too committed once she started performing Rikishi's iconic signature move. She also revealed that licking Mysterio's face was planned, however deciding to lick Morgan at Bash in Berlin was a complete spur of the moment idea. 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "The Wrestling Classic" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.