Rhea Ripley Calls Out Bayley; WWE Rumors on Jordynne Grace; Dakota Kai Injury Update
Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from WWE and AEW.
Rhea Ripley Challenges Bayley to Iron Woman Match
Usually, at least one Royal Rumble participant makes fans wait before calling their shot at WrestleMania.
That wasn't the case this year.
Cody Rhodes made it clear he will be headlining WrestleMania against Roman Reigns for a second straight year, while Bayley called out Rhea Ripley on social media Sunday—leading the women's world champion to suggest an interesting stipulation:
There have only been two iron woman matches in WWE history. Sasha Banks defeated Bayley for the NXT women's championship at NXT Takeover: Respect in 2015, and Charlotte Flair beat Banks in a Raw women's championship match at Roadblock in 2016.
The only iron man/woman match to take place at WrestleMania was Shawn Michaels' defeat of Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII.
It's unclear if WWE will actually allot the time for Ripley and Bayley to go 30 minutes or an hour on the WrestleMania card, but it's clear they're determined to make their match on the grandest stage special.
Jordynne Grace Signed to TNA, Royal Rumble Spot Reportedly Was One Off
The number of shocking returns and appearances at the 2024 Royal Rumble was surprisingly low, but the appearance of TNA knockouts champion Jordynne Grace still sent shockwaves across the IWC.
Grace was the fifth entrant in the women's rumble and lasted an impressive 19 minutes and 10 seconds.
Fightful Select reported her appearance came together in recent weeks as WWE contacted several outside companies in hopes of landing a surprise. Those in WWE said Grace was "easy to deal with" and that TNA was also accommodating of the one-off appearance.
This marks something of a changing of the guard in WWE, which has essentially ignored its competition since the dissolution of WCW. Mickie James made an appearance while she was knockouts champion in 2022, but James has an extended history in WWE, so it was less surprising than Grace, who had never competed with the company.
This was likely just a one-off to pop fans, but it'll be interesting to see if WWE and TNA keep a loose working relationship.
Dakota Kai 'So Close' to Returning from ACL Injury
Dakota Kai's in-ring return may be closer than we all expect.
Kai teased a comeback in an interview with Denise Salcedo after the 2024 Royal Rumble.
"We're so close. We're so close, you guys," Kai said.
Kai was injured last May and has been out of action ever since, though she has shown up in a managerial role for Damage CTRL.
It will be interesting to see how Kai is used once she returns. There has clearly been a build for Bayley to be kicked out of Damage CTRL for months, and it's possible Kai—and the group as a whole—plays a factor in her WrestleMania match.
As it stands, it will just be nice to have Kai back in action, whenever she winds up cleared medically.
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