After Bianca Belair won the Women’s Elimination Chamber, WWE had a match on Monday Night RAW on Netflix between Rhea Ripley and Iyo Sky to determine her WrestleMania 41 opponent. Belair was set to face the winner for the WWE Women’s World Championship.
Many might have assumed Ripley would retain her championship after her latest defense. However, WWE shocked the world by having Sky win the title in shocking fashion as Belair watched during the March 3, 2025, edition of WWE RAW on Netflix.
During the match, Ripley got distracted by Belair, who sat at ringside during it. They got in each other’s faces near the announcer’s table, exchanging shoves before the referee broke it up.
As Ripley went for a top-rope Riptide, Sky reversed the move. Sky then hit a moonsault before pinning Ripley to capture the Women’s World Championship for the first time.
The shocking result on WWE RAW on Netflix ended Ripley’s Women’s World Championship reign after 56 days. Her second reign was significantly shorter than her first.
In 2024, Ripley relinquished the Women’s World Championship after suffering an injury following WrestleMania 40. She was giving up the championship after 380 days, which tied her with Bayley for the longest reign in the title’s history.
Could Ripley make the argument that she be inserted into the match between Sky and Belair? When she was ringside, Belair shoved her, which could have caused a disqualification. However, the referee did not call it, which is somewhat controversial.
Why did Iyo Sky beat Rhea Ripley for the WWE Women’s World Championship?
It is unusual for WWE to make a title change before a big event like WrestleMania 41. Perhaps that was part of the reason they made the decision to put the belt on Sky.
Still, the decision remains surprising given Iyo Sky and Bianca Belair’s history. Previously, they feuded over the Women’s Championship, having several matches, including the 2023 WarGames match at Survivor Series.
Now, WWE is set to revisit their rivalry if the matchup remains the same at WrestleMania 41. Assuming they do not add Rhea Ripley into the fold, it will be another bout between the two.
However, as WWE has consistently shown, plans can change in a heartbeat. There are still several weeks before WrestleMania 41, and anything could happen.
A triple-threat match between Sky, Ripley, and Belair is a way to get all three on the card. WrestleMania 41 is going to be a star-studded show, and having all three in a match would be a marquee bout.
Sky previously held the Women’s Championship for 246 days and walked into WrestleMania 40 as champion against Bayley. Sky lost it to Bayley during the second night of WrestleMania 40. She had not held gold since then before her latest championship win.
She previously won the Women’s Money in the Bank contract to earn a championship match at any time. Sky cashed it in during SummerSlam in 2023 on Belair, who had just won the Women’s Championship after a grueling triple-threat with Asuka and Charlotte Flair.
At the 2025 Royal Rumble, Sky came up short. She was the first entrant in the match and lasted over one hour and six minutes. It was a record-breaking amount of time in the match before Liv Morgan and Roxanne Perez both broke it in the same match.
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