WWE fans have been left stunned by Rhea Ripley’s “wild” body transformation over the past six years.
The wrestling superstar joined WWE in 2017 and looked like a completely different person from the star that’s seen on screen now.
Instagram/rhearipley_wweRhea Ripley joined WWE in 2017[/caption]
Instagram/rhearipley_wweThe Australian used to have blonde hair and wore little make up[/caption]
2023 Getty ImagesRipley has since completely changed her look[/caption]
2023 Getty ImagesThe 27-year-old has embraced a gothic look in her rise to become a WWE superstar[/caption]
A throwback photo of Ripley shows the wrestler with long blonde hair, little makeup and a beaming smile.
Now the 27-year-old Australian has shorter, black hair, a pierced tongue, a nose ring and black lipstick.
“Rhea Ripley’s transformation over the years is pretty wild,” the social media post said.
“On the left we got Mommy and on the right we have Mami,” one fan said.
“Before Halloween, and after Halloween,” another fan said.
“From the high-school sweetheart to the girl [you’re] scared of but secretly want to impress,” a third added.
Ripley recently explained the background of her insane body transformation.
“I wanted to cut my hair for a long time, but I was so scared,” she said.
“It’s such a scary thing, I always use my hair to hide behind, but one of the guys at the PC was like, ‘I think you’d rock short hair. Just do it.’
“And I was like, ‘alright I’m gonna do it.’
“So I cut my hair, and gradually it got shorter every week. Every NXT show, it got shorter and shorter.
“But I think I just finally started accepting who I was, and not caring what everyone else thought of me.”
Ripley also disclosed her ‘Mami’ nickname came when WWE partner Dominik Mysterio was trying to recreate Eddie Guerrero’s ‘Latino Heat’ gimmick.
“So me being the little menace that I am, I was like, you know what? I ordered an Eddie Guerrero shirt, the one that said, ‘I’m your Papi’,” she recalled.
“And I was like, I’m just gonna wear it and see what happens. I wore it and the internet exploded.
“Eventually, I was like, ‘Yo, we should make some more shirts’.
“But they were like, ‘Maybe we’ll change it in Mami’, so that’s where Mami came from.”
In August, Ripley announced her engagement to fellow wrestler Buddy Matthews.
Ripley – real name Demi Bennett – and Matthews went public with their romance in May 2022.