WWE Superstar Rhea Ripley shocks wrestling fans with unrecognizable throwback photos from before her goth gimmick makeover
Rhea Ripley is one of the biggest names in WWE Women’s Division.
The Adelaide-born performer is famed for her incredible strength in the ring and menacing goth image, to the point that wrestling fans were recently shocked to unearth some of her pre-WWE photos.
In the pictures, the 26-year-old looks completely unrecognizable compared to her current appearance.
Before and after: Photos of WWE superstar Rhea Ripley taken before her wrestling transformation have resurfaced online
Instead of her short black hair, which she wears slicked back with shaved sides, Rhea has smooth and straight blonde locks.
Her makeup is light and natural and she has no tattoos.
Nowadays, Rhea boasts tattoos on her hands and forearms and even has a little ink on her face.
She’s also now sporting jet black lipstick, and her earlobes have been expanded with a large, circular piercing.
In the throwback pictures, the 26-year-old looks completely unrecognizable compared to her current appearance
In this vintage photo from before her transformation, a fresh-faced Rhea hugs a relative
While her offbeat transformation has propelled her into one of wrestling’s biggest names, some fans have asked her to return to her old image.
“So pretty,” one fan commented on an old photo. “We want this diva. Not that goth look.’
“You look so beautiful with long hair,” gushed another.
Rhea opened up about her extreme makeover in an interview with Fox Sports in September.
Nowadays, Rhea boasts tattoos on her hands and forearms and even has a little ink on her face
“Growing up, I looked at people like Beth Phoenix. She was different, she was built differently, tall, beefy and she had muscles and she went out and obliterated everyone in her path. That’s someone I looked up to,” she said.
“So to kind of get put into this role where now I’ve put the time and effort into the gym and also made my body this weapon of mass destruction, but not just to do that in myself, but to prove it to everyone that they feel comfortable in their own skin and shouldn’t care what people think or say about them as long as they are happy within themselves and surround themselves with the right people, I think that’s really special.
She also said she was fed up with the stereotypes about how women are supposed to look in society.
She’s also now sporting jet black lipstick, and her earlobes have been expanded with a large, circular piercing
“The whole thing is that women should have long hair. I hate this cliché. I hate when men say let your hair grow,” she said.
‘No. This is my body, this is my choice. I do what the hell I want with my body and you can’t tell me what to do because I love myself, I really don’t care if you don’t love me.
The former Raw Women’s Champion also said that she has now inspired countless other women to cut their hair short.
“I’m really proud and happy to be on this platform where I can also help people,” Rhea gushed.
“I keep getting messages, tweets and posts tagging me about people getting more confident from seeing me, which is absolutely insane.”
“The whole thing is that women should have long hair. I hate this cliché. I hate when guys say let your hair grow,” Rhea said recently