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    5 Replacements for Rhea Ripley if she’s forced to relinquish the WWE Women’s Championship

    AdminBy No Comments5 Mins Read0 Views


    Rhea Ripley defeated Jade Cargill at Clash in Italy to remain the WWE Women’s Champion. It marked her second victory over The Storm, starting with a massive title win over Cargill at WrestleMania 42.

    After the showdown in Italy, Ripley appeared on SmackDown with a limp and a brace around her right knee. She admitted to being a bit banged up after her physical battle at the recent PLE.

    While officials didn’t outright address the severity of her injury or allude to potentially vacating the title, it could be the fate of the WWE Women’s Championship should those injuries prove to be severe.

    She doesn’t have to compete for a few weeks since she just defended her title. If only her counterpart on RAW did the same thing.

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    If Rhea Ripley is forced to relinquish the WWE Women’s Championship due to her ailments, then the next five women could replace her atop SmackDown.

    #5. Jade Cargill reclaims the WWE Women’s Championship

    Ripley won the title from Cargill at WrestleMania 42. She also bested her again at Clash in Italy. Since she was the last person to hold the title, she has some grounds to fill in if Mami is forced to vacate her title.

    It could restart the run she was supposed to have after beating Tiffany Stratton for the belt. Officials ruined the earlier stages by not having her defend the title for nearly 100 days. After that, it was too late to save her first major championship run.

    If Ripley does vacate but is healthy enough by SummerSlam, then officials can run the trilogy match at The Biggest Party of the Summer.

    #4. Stephanie Vaquer returns with a bang

    Stephanie Vaquer hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since losing the Women’s World Title to Liv Morgan at WrestleMania 42. It’s unclear whether she’s taking a planned hiatus or dealing with an injury or injuries.

    Whatever the case may be, Vaquer could return and join SmackDown’s women’s roster. She’s a top-tier performer and is extremely popular. Vaquer also deserves better than what she had to deal with during her title run.

    Facing Raquel Rodriguez numerous times and Nikki Bella would make any title reign boring. She’s capable of more, as evidenced by her feud with Morgan.

    Vaquer can carry a brand and would be a great fill-in for Rippley. The two could eventually have that dream match when Mami was ready.

    #3. Charlotte Flair goes for a 15th Championship

    Officials are clearly building up to another showdown between Ripley and Flair, and it could come through Queen of the Ring. The tournament could be used to give a different star a title shot instead of the same few people, but WWE doesn’t mind handing shots to the same stars over and over again.

    They’ve built the foundation for one potentially turning on the other after keeping their cool thanks to Alexa Bliss. They’ve also bonded over their issues with Jade Cargill and her lackeys.

    It would be overkill with Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes as champions, as both are the golden boys. Ripley and Flair are among the top women, so bookers could decide to stem the potential loss by giving one of Ripley’s greatest rivals her spot.

    #2. IYO SKY fills in for her friend

    If WWE wants to go back to the well as they’d do with other potential replacements, they could do so with IYO SKY. Before Ripley buddyed up with Bliss and Flair, she literally tagged with SKY for most of 2025 and early 2026.

    SKY took a backseat once WrestleMania rolled around, but was used as a stepping stone for Ripley’s feud for The Show of Shows. The Genius of the Sky won her first-round Queen of the Ring matchup and is one of the favorites to win.

    Ripley also has a history with SKY in the ring, falling in several of their most recent clashes, including WrestleMania 41. The two could revisit their storied history if IYO takes over for a potentially injured Mami. The match would be worthy of the main event at any PLE, from SummerSlam to Money in the Bank.

    #1. The 2026 Queen of the Ring wins the tournament and the title

    This could turn out to be Cargill, Flair, or Sky, but several other women could advance and win the 2026 Queen of the Ring Tournament. If Rhea Ripley must vacate the title due to her nagging injuries, then WWE could call an audible.

    Instead of facing a champion for their title at SummerSlam, the winner of the tournament could become the new WWE Women’s Champion. It would easily solve the problem without another tournament or series of matches to crown a new champion.

    WWE hasn’t used logic in some of its booking decisions recently, so they could go with another series of triple threats or a battle royal to determine a new titleholder.

    Using the Queen of the Ring Tournament to replace Ripley as Champion also provides several avenues for those still alive to win it.