In March 2024, Rhea Ripley stunned WWE audiences by delivering a bold stinkface move to Nia Jax, known in the ring as “The Irresistible Force,” during a live event. The unexpected stunt quickly gained viral attention, marking a memorable moment in Ripley’s wrestling career. The following night, during another live event, Shayna Baszler requested Ripley to repeat the stunt on her, but it instead ended with Jax turning the tables and applying the move herself.
The Origin and Reaction to the Stinkface Spot
During an interview on Insight With Chris Van Vliet, Nia Jax revealed that the idea for the stinkface moment came from her. She explained,
“So obviously, that’s what I do. I do the stink face, and as a heel, I like to rub it in, literally,”
highlighting her in-ring persona. Jax decided to switch things up during the live events and proposed the stunt, inspired by the classic move made famous by Rikishi. She said,
“I just thought we were on the live event; I thought one night, let’s change this up. Why not? Because it was a cool triple threat moment, me her and Shayna, and I was like, ‘Why don’t you give me a stink face?’ She’s like, ‘Really?’ She was like, ‘You mean like Rikishi style?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, do the full Rikishi. Get it, get it!’ And then we did it.”
The crowd’s enthusiastic reaction was immediate. Jax described the fans’ response, stating,
“Obviously, the crowd went nuts, and then it was a viral moment, and yeah, and then we had a good time.”
She added how they played with the spot over the following nights, switching it up to keep the audience guessing.
“We actually switched it a couple nights because everybody was expecting it and I was trying to be a dick about it. Then I did it to Shayna, where Shayna was like, ‘Let me have it.’ She closed her eyes, and then I freaking took out Rhea, and then she didn’t realize it was me. It was funny. It was a good time.”
Context Within Ripley’s Championship Reign
At the time of these triple threat matches, Rhea Ripley was the reigning WWE Women’s World Champion. Her championship reign was leading up to a highly anticipated match against Becky Lynch at WWE WrestleMania 40, positioning Ripley as one of the top competitors on the roster. These playful yet impactful moments during live events helped showcase Ripley’s versatility and connection with the audience while building anticipation for her future championship defenses.
