Rhea Ripley has revealed that she entered WrestleMania 42 carrying multiple injuries, including stitches in her leg and a pulled groin, after an accident involving one of her dogs.
Speaking on What’s Your Story? with Stephanie McMahon, Ripley explained that the injury occurred while playing with her dog Barry shortly before WrestleMania.
According to Ripley, the accident happened during what seemed like a harmless moment of play. “Sometimes he just gets so excited, and he doesn’t understand that his teeth are sharp.”
She described jumping over the dog as he slid across the floor, leading to an unfortunate collision. “I did one jump, but he also slid at the same time, and as he slid, he opened his mouth to turn, just out of excitement, and my leg just got caught on his one tooth.”
Ripley said the incident resulted in a severe cut that immediately concerned her. “It was so perfect it couldn’t happen again, and it just instantly slit my leg open.”
The former Women’s Champion recalled looking down and realizing the injury was more serious than she initially expected. “I looked down, and all I can see is like yellow flesh. It’s not even bleeding. It’s like I just have like fat hanging out.”
Realizing she needed medical treatment, Ripley immediately sought help. “I looked at my leg, and I go, Matt, I need to go to hospital, I need stitches.”
Ripley also revealed that the same incident left her dealing with a groin injury heading into WWE’s biggest event of the year. “It’s hard, because right now I have stitches, and I like pulled my groin a little bit in that whole situation with the dogs.”
Despite not being fully healthy, she remained determined to compete. “I know I’m not 100%, but I’m gonna try and be.”
Like many wrestlers before major matches, Ripley trusted adrenaline to help carry her through. “Adrenaline is a wild drug, so I don’t know what’s gonna happen out there. I could be completely fine.”
At WrestleMania 42, Ripley ultimately lost the WWE Women’s World Championship to Jade Cargill. The rivalry is set to continue, with Ripley challenging Cargill for the title once again at WWE Clash in Italy on May 31.
The story is another reminder of how often wrestlers enter major matches far less than 100 percent, with injuries sometimes coming from the most unexpected places rather than inside the ring.
