Rhea Ripley, Adelaide's ripper World Wrestling Entertainment title winner in 2023 with Los Angeles smackdown
Rhea Ripley (Demi Bennett) winning the World Wrestling Entertainment smackdown women’s title, in the first Wrestlemania match to only feature women, before 80,000-plus fans at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in 2023. Inset right: Bronson Reed (real name Jermaine Haley), another Adelaide high flyer in professional wresting in the United States of America in 2023.
Maybe it’s in Farmer’s Union Iced Coffee, Vili’s pies or Adelaide tap water. That was Rhea Ripley’s suggestion for Adelaide in 2023 having two top professional wrestlers making ripples on the world stage.
Ripley (real name: Demi Bennett) had been rated the world’s top female wrestley having just won the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) smackdown women’s title, in the first Wrestlemania match to only feature women, before 80,000-plus fans at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. She defended her women's world tile in Philadelphia in 2024.
A former student at Henley Primary and Henley High, in Adelaide’s western suburbs, Ripley defeated iconic WWE star Charlotte Flair, daughter of the legendary Ric Flair, in longest women’s match – 23 minutes – in Wrestlemania history.
Ripley started her climb to the top at Adelaide’s Riot City Wrestling in 2021. Riot City was profession wrestling promotion started in Adelaide in 2006. After wrestling promotions in Australia (with her last match at Riot City) and overseas, Ripley was recruited into WWE’s developmental programme in 2017.
Another Adelaide high flyer in professional wresting in the United States of America in 2023 was Bronson Reed (real name Jermaine Haley), a former NXT North American champion signed with WWE. Debuting in 2007 under the ring names Jonah Rock and J-Rock, he spent 11 years in the Australian independent circuit winning many titles. He was a three-time wrestle rampage Australian national champion, former one-time Explosive pro-wrestling tag team champion, former one-time Pacific Pro wrestling heavyweight championship, former one-time heavyweight champion, former one-time professional Wrestling Alliance heavyweight champion and a one-time Melbourne City Wrestling world heavyweight champion, one-time intercommonwealth champion and one-time tag team champion.
Reed also appeared in Japan's Pro Wrestling NOAH promotion, the British Revolution and PROGRESS promotions, German promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling and American independent Guerilla promotion. A diehard Port Adelaide Football Club fan, Reed told The Advertiser newspaper in Adelaide that he would love to face off with Ripley – an Adelaide (Crows) Football Club supporter – in the middle of the Adelaide Oval for a Showdown of their own.
