Since winning the Women’s Elimination Chamber match, Rhea Ripley has been appearing on Friday Night SmackDown to build up her WWE Women’s Championship match against Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 42.
While she has confronted Cargill on more than one occasion in recent weeks, Ripley has not competed in any matches on SmackDown since her win at the Chamber.
With four weeks until Mania, it feels like fans will see Rhea compete against some of the SmackDown talent to get herself ready for this showdown with Cargill.
Here are six potential WWE SmackDown matches for Rhea Ripley before WrestleMania 42.
6. Rhea Ripley vs. B-Fab
On the March 13 edition of Friday Night SmackDown, eagle eyed fans witnessed WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill chatting with B-Fab backstage.
This could signal a new alliance forming with Cargill and B-Fab becoming partners, which could be very intriguing.
With B-Fab joining forces with Cargill, it could lead to her trying to soften up Rhea Ripley for the champion’s showdown with her at WrestleMania 42.
Ripley taking down B-Fab to make a statement to Cargill could tell a story leading into Mania in Las Vegas this April.
5. Rhea Ripley vs. Michin
The March 13 Friday Night SmackDown saw Jade Cargill defeat Michin in a singles match after weeks of interactions between the two ladies.
After this loss, Rhea Ripley approached Michin to commend her on her effort against the WWE Women’s Champion, but Michin did not take too kindly to this.
While they are both enemies of Cargill, Michin could want to prove that she should be in the WWE Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania 42 by defeating the number one contender.
Ripley facing Michin could offer a glimpse to how ‘Mami’ stacks up against Cargill by facing someone she most recently defeated.
4. Rhea Ripley vs. Lash Legend
On the February 27 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, The Irresistible Forces defeated RHIYO to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.
This victory came courtesy of Lash Legend scoring a pinfall over Rhea Ripley to capture the gold for her team with Nia Jax.
Legend has proven to be more than a match to the size, strength and presence of Ripley whenever those two duos clashed.
Comparable to what Jade Cargill offers in the ring, Ripley would be hard-pressed to find anyone who could give her a better warm-up for her WrestleMania 42 showdown than Lash.
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3. RHIYO (Rhea Ripley & IYO SKY) vs. Jade Cargill & B-Fab
Speaking of RHIYO, the duo of Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY has made for one of the best women’s tag teams in all of WWE today.
On the January 5 edition of Monday Night Raw, Ripley and SKY defeated The Kabuki Warriors to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.
While they have lost the titles to The Irresistible Forces last month, fans could see RHIYO reunite ahead of WrestleMania 42 to do battle with Jade Cargill and her new ally.
As previously mentioned, Cargill has seemingly attempted to form an alliance with B-Fab, which could offer a preview tag team match with RHIYO ahead of Mania in the coming weeks.
Rhea Ripley vs. Tiffany Stratton
At WWE Elimination Chamber 2026, Rhea Ripley defeated Tiffany Stratton, Raquel Rodriguez, Kiana James, Asuka and Alexa Bliss to win the women’s Elimination Chamber and punch her ticket for WrestleMania 42.
The ending of this bout saw Ripley do battle with Stratton to finally score the win to advance to a shot at the WWE Women’s Championship at ‘The Show of Shows.’
It was Stratton, who Jade Cargill defeated to become the WWE Women’s Champion at the November 1 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event.
With her experience against Cargill over a series of matches in 2025, it would make sense for Ripley to prepare for her clash with the WWE Women’s Champion by facing her rival Stratton before WrestleMania 42.
Rhea Ripley & Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jade Cargill & Liv Morgan
The two women’s title matches at WrestleMania 42 will see Rhea Ripley challenge Jade Cargill for the WWE Women’s Championship, while Stephanie Vaquer will defend the Women’s World Championship against Liv Morgan.
After winning the women’s Royal Rumble match, Morgan scouted Cargill to see if she wanted to pick her WWE Women’s Championship to challenge for at Mania this year.
Meanwhile, Morgan has plenty of history with Rhea Ripley as a former tag team partner and rival over the past few years.
Considering all the ties these four women have, WWE could present a massive tag team match with Ripley teaming with Vaquer to face Morgan and Cargill in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.
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