Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com noted the following regarding Chelsea’s reign…

“Well, it looks likely now that this will end up being the women’s title and not the interim title, since Rhea Ripley just had knee surgery. The hope right now is that Ripley would be back for the Royal Rumble show.”

False Finish also wrote via Twitter/X: “Sources indicate to False Finish that it’s very likely that WWE will recognize Chelsea Green as the official WWE Women’s Champion without the interim tag.”

On the August 7th 2026 edition of SmackDown, Chelsea held a victory celebration following her title win. She wore a shirt declaring herself the “Permanent Champion,” while commentary also referred to her simply as the Women’s Champion during her entrance.

With Rhea Ripley undergoing surgery, sources indicate to False Finish that it's very likely that WWE will recognize Chelsea Green as the official WWE Women's Champion without the interim tag pic.twitter.com/6GlTSmEPTy

— False Finish (@FalseFinishHQ) August 7, 2026

The post News regarding the status of the WWE women’s title following Rhea Ripley’s surgery appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

In an update, Rhea announced via Instagram that she underwent surgery for her knee injury…

“After just under 14 year in wrestling and doing sports my entire life… It’s caught up to me. Surgery was never a first option for me, but it got to the point that it was needed… First one down… Hopefully no more…

See you all down the road.”

As seen during the 2026 WWE SummerSlam Sunday PLE, Chelsea Green became the Interim WWE Women’s Champion by winning a five-way ladder match.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Rhea Ripley (@rhearipley_wwe)

The post Rhea Ripley announces that she underwent surgery for her knee injury appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

According to WrestleVotes Radio, Rhea’s injury forced WWE to make multiple creative changes ahead of SummerSlam. One of the scrapped plans reportedly included a championship match between Jade Cargill and Charlotte Flair.

Tiffany Stratton was also originally scheduled to defend the WWE Women’s United States Championship at SummerSlam in her home state of Minnesota. According to Cory Hays of False Finish, Blake Monroe was originally going to be Tiffany’s challenger. Instead, Tiffany is now set to compete in the five-woman ladder match for the Interim WWE Women’s Championship.

The report added that WWE had hoped Rhea would be medically cleared in time for SummerSlam, but there was support backstage for her to avoid rushing back. Officials were apparently concerned that returning too soon could worsen the injury and lead to a more serious setback later in the year.

.@WrestleVotes Radio on @FightfulSelect has learned that Rhea Ripley's injury forced WWE to make changes to several creative plans, including the originally proposed title match between Jade Cargill and Charlotte Flair.

In addition, Tiffany Stratton was originally slotted to… pic.twitter.com/vmob5iiIUO

— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) July 23, 2026

The post Backstage news regarding WWE changing creative plans for SummerSlam due to Rhea Ripley’s injury appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

While recovering from her injury, Rhea wrote the following message via Twitter/X…

“There are a lot of tiny little idiotic humans on this app. Literally good for nothing, know nothing, hypocritical, terrible excuses for humans… The amount of delusion is funny af Literal jokes. If this triggers you, then it’s directed at YOU. Hope this helps .”

There are a lot of tiny little idiotic humans on this app. Literally good for nothing, know nothing, hypocritical, terrible excuses for humans… The amount of delusion is funny af Literal jokes.
If this triggers you, then it’s directed at YOU.
Hope this helps

— RheaRipley_WWE (@RheaRipley_WWE) July 22, 2026

The post Rhea Ripley says “there are a lot of tiny little idiotic humans” on Twitter/X appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

In an update, WWE RAW General Manager Adam Pearce issued the following announcement…

“As many of you know, WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley has been spending the last several weeks recovering from a torn meniscus. Throughout her recovery, she’s worked tirelessly with WWE Medical, and she’s close to returning.

And when Rhea does return to competition, we find out who the one and only WWE Women’s Champion truly is. And that is official.”

BREAKING NEWS

Due to Rhea Ripley’s injury, Adam Pearce announces that an interim WWE Women's Champion will be crowned in a Ladder Match at #SummerSlam. pic.twitter.com/HtX9k8WYab

— WWE (@WWE) July 17, 2026

The post WWE RAW General Manager Adam Pearce makes announcement regarding Rhea Ripley’s injury appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“I hurt my knee. I got a slight tear in my meniscus, so it’s just healing. It’s getting there, it’s getting stronger. I just can’t bend it very well, so I kind of need it to bend, guys.

Rhea Ripley confirms she has a slight meniscus tear, and that’s why she’s currently on the shelf. pic.twitter.com/4vVbKvu1LJ

— The Scrap (@TheScrapNews) July 11, 2026

The post Rhea Ripley addresses her absence from WWE television ahead of SummerSlam 2026 appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

* Cody Rhodes vs. CM Punk for the WWE Championship
* Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship
* Liv Morgan vs. Iyo Sky for the Women’s World Championship
* Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar inside Hell in a Cell
* Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill
* Trick Williams vs. Carmelo Hayes for the United States Championship
* Gunther vs. Royce Keys
* Paige & Brie Bella vs. Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship

Meltzer noted that Rhea’s injury did not affect the planned Women’s World Championship match, as Iyo Sky defeating Morgan to win the Queen of the Ring tournament and earn the title opportunity had always been the intended direction. Before suffering the injury, Rhea was reportedly slated to face either Alexa Bliss or Jacy Jayne at SummerSlam.

Meltzer added that Rhea “was not stripped of the title which one would think she would be if she were to need major surgery.”

The post What matches WWE reportedly had planned for SummerSlam 2026 prior to Rhea Ripley’s injury appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

The post NoDQ Review 392: Rhea Ripley potentially missing WWE SummerSlam 2026, Danhausen and the NY Knicks appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

According to WrestleVotes, WWE is still determining the extent of the injury and whether it could impact Rhea’s status for SummerSlam. It was also noted that plans for a potential Charlotte Flair vs. Jade Cargill match could change if Rhea is unable to compete, as WWE would need to adjust its plans for the women’s championship picture.

WWE has since updated the Night of Champions promotional poster, replacing Rhea with Tiffany Stratton.

WWE has officially amended the NOC PLE poster for next weekend.

Rhea Ripley has been replaced by Tiffany Stratton. pic.twitter.com/08gjZDM8eN

— Wrestle Features (@WrestleFeatures) June 16, 2026

The post Rhea Ripley replaced on WWE Night of Champions poster as her immediate future is unclear appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.

“All the time. Especially when people rock up to my f*cking house and text me on my actual mobile phone. I won’t say how, but someone found my phone number and they texted me the other day wanting me to see them because they couldn’t buy tickets to SmackDown.

It baffles me. It really does. Like, there’s no privacy anywhere.”

What ever happened to respecting others privacy… pic.twitter.com/tQgBCP7I9l

— Dakota_The_Redneck (@RedNeckMosher) June 14, 2026

The post Rhea Ripley says she gets scared “all the time” about WWE fans not respecting her privacy appeared first on NoDQ.com: WWE and AEW Coverage.