Rhea Ripley’s meniscus tear leaves WWE Women’s Champion’s SummerSlam future uncertain

WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley confirmed she suffered a slight meniscus tear in her knee, sustaining the injury during a live event on June 3 in Lisbon, Portugal, and later evaluated after a match at Clash in Italy. Speaking at the Power Slap event, she said, “I got a slight tear in my meniscus… it’s healing, it’s getting stronger. I can’t bend it very well.” Ripley added that the tear is in an unusual spot, making the recovery timeline “up in the air.” She has been out for about a month and a week and still experiences pain, throbbing, and fatigue when moving.

The injury has put WWE’s plans for SummerSlam 2026 at risk. The company had penciled her to defend the Women’s Championship against either Alexa Bliss or Jacy Jayne, but with no clear return date, officials have not announced whether the title will be vacated. No official decision on stripping the championship has been made, though backstage reports are discussing the possibility.

Ripley’s absence also caused a reshuffle of other women’s division matches on WWE programming, including Night of Champions and SmackDown storylines.