By Lisa Solinareos and Max Sherry
Rhea Ripley is in search of yet more WWE championship belts - only this time, it'll be in a tag team.
Since first bursting onto the WWE scene, the Aussie has quickly emerged as one of the biggest and most talented superstars on the roster.
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A genuine household name, her upward trajectory has seen her defeat some of the best in the business before successfully capturing the Raw Women's Championship at WrestleMania 37 last year.
But having conquered the singles matches scene, Ripley now fancies her chances in a tag team.
Up until fairly recently, she and fellow partner Nikki A.S.H. looked destined for greatness at this year's WrestleMania, before Nikki stunned fans by turning her back on the Australian.
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It was an ugly split, but one which has arguably left Ripley in a better position as she's now teaming up with good friend Liv Morgan with the hopes of giving current champions Queen Zelina and Carmella a run for their money at WrestleMania 38 in Dallas.
"I'm normally a lone wolf who likes to do their own thing," Ripley told SPORTbible Australia ahead of the four-way tag team match for the belts.
"It's very rare for me to take someone in and let them be close to me, so when I did with Nikki A.S.H. we bonded really well and she was like my little sister - it was like having family there.
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"With Nikki and Liv Morgan, I feel like I keep getting put in these random tag teams, but they work. The one with Nikki, it worked until she chose for it to not work anymore. With Liv, we've trained at the performance centre and we've been on the road consistently together for five years, so we know each other very well.
"I never thought about teaming up with her until it happened. I was thinking 'why didn't we do this before?' We just have such great chemistry together and we really get along. She makes me smile, she really does - it's a bit gushy but she does."
Not many Aussies have reached the lofty heights that Ripley has in such a short space of time.
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But performing at the WWE's biggest event of the year, WrestleMania, isn't unfamiliar territory for Ripley.
"I feel amazing. Only this time, I'm excited to share this moment with someone," she added.
"The last two years I was out there by myself. The first time was just crazy with zero people in attendance, which was kind of stressful in itself. The second year I got everything I could ever want from WrestleMania: I got my moment with the crowd and I got my moment in winning the Raw women's championship.
"But this year I get to share it all with Liv, which is super cool and I'm just so pumped to go out there together and share that moment with her and feel that electricity coming from the audience. Especially someone I do adore and I do love - she's absolutely amazing and so good at what she does. Hopefully we can go out there and get the tag team championships."
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WrestleMania 38 streams LIVE on WWE Network - Sunday 3rd April and Monday 4th April at 10am AEST.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy/SuppliedTopics: Wrestlemania, Wrestling, WWE, Australia,
