Rhea Ripley Credits Cesaro For Helping Her With Finish Against Shayna Baszler

Rhea Ripley needed everything and then some to put Shayna Baszler away and capture the NXT Women’s Championship. Ripley defeated Baszler on the Dec. 18 episode of NXT with an Avalanche Riptide — a pumphandle bomb from the second rope — which she admitted she needed some help with prior to the match.

Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Ripley revealed Cesaro was the one who helped her with the finish.

“I was ready for that moment,” said Ripley. “I knew I had her exactly where I wanted her. She’s on my lap, I’m thinking I got this, but then the fear of slipping came into my head when I stood backwards. I tried to ignore that and just go with it, and that’s when I knew it was mine. My finisher Riptide is hard enough to do in the ring, let alone on two little ropes, and Cesaro helped me figure it out how to do it from there. We were at the PC struggling with it and he came out of nowhere to help.”

After the match, the ring filled up with fans, leading to a mosh pit in the middle of the ring. Ripley previously admitted that she was terrified of being dropped during the mosh pit. You can find her full comments by clicking here.