A major championship match is now set for WWE Evolution, as Women’s World Champion IYO SKY will defend her title against Rhea Ripley. The confrontation that sealed the bout took place during the opening segment of the June 30 episode of WWE RAW.
Ripley came to the ring to address her future following a significant victory at Night of Champions. Before she could elaborate, she was interrupted by SKY. The champion, stating there could be no Evolution without her, revealed that WWE official Adam Pearce granted her the ability to choose her own challenger for the event. SKY declared she wanted to face the best and formally challenged Ripley, who accepted.
The segment on RAW was billed as a special address from Ripley just two days after she defeated Raquel Rodriguez in a brutal Street Fight at the Night of Champions premium live event in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, June 28.
That victory came after a physical, back-and-forth contest that saw both women use weapons. Rodriguez attacked Ripley with a kendo stick early in the match, and later powerbombed her through the Arabic announce table. The fight also saw interference from Roxanne Perez, who was neutralized by Ripley.
The match concluded when Ripley performed an avalanche Riptide on Rodriguez from the top rope through a table, securing a decisive pinfall victory. Following the win, Ripley confirmed she suffered bruised ribs as a result of the kendo stick shots but stated she did not believe the injury was serious.