Rhea Ripley will miss WWE SummerSlam, interim champion to be named

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Raw GM Adam Pearce is in control of SmackDown tonight (July 17), where there is “a ton to address.” One of those issues is the status of WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley, who has been out of action since she suffered an injury on WWE’s European tour in early June. SummerSlam takes place on the weekend of August 1 & 2, which is roughly two weeks from now. WWE needed to find a solution ASAP for what’s going on with Ripley’s belt on that show, and they just announced it a short while ago. Instead of forcing Rhea to vacate her title, WWE will instead crown an interim champion with a ladder match at SummerSlam. Pearce says five women will have the chance to win their way into the ladder match, starting tonight. I would expect Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill to be in the mix for this interim title, so perhaps their long-awaited singles match will end up being for this interim title at SummerSlam. Then again, perhaps they will screw each other out of this opportunity on SmackDown before then. Either way, when Ripley is recovered from her torn meniscus, she will fight the interim titleholder to decide who the undisputed WWE women’s champion really is. Are you surprised that WWE decided to introduce an interim championship instead of stripping Rhea of her belt? What do you think this means about the timeline for Ripley’s return from injury? Let me know your reaction to this breaking news in the comments below, Cagesiders.

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It was revealed Friday ahead of "WWE SmackDown" that WWE Women's Champion Rhea Ripley is not cleared for SummerSlam, and an interim champion will be crowned.