Rhea Ripley is the "Mami" of the WWE, this much we know. The Women's Universal champion has been on a dominant run, and has maintained her title-holding with the support of her faction The Judgment Day, as well as her "boyfriend," Dominik Mysterio. In reality, Ripley and Dom aren't actually a romantic item, which is partly why Twitter was all sorts of confused when she wished him a Happy Father's Day on Twitter.
It's one thing to call your fake boyfriend "Papi," but quite another to go public with a Father's Day post showcasing an imaginary family together. Rhea Ripley did just that on Twitter, which fans can see below with all of its photoshopped imaginary babies glory.
Happy Papi’s Day - Mami, Raymondo & Angelina 😘 pic.twitter.com/gBxXHDmuPkJune 18, 2023
What is going on here? Who are Raymondo & Angelina? Why did Rhea Ripley photoshop fake babies into a photo with her and Dominik Mysterio, and then name them? Is this a bit, an inside joke, or a storyline spearheaded by big boss Vince McMahon after he resumed the creative control that was once handed off to Triple H?
I have no idea what's going on, honestly, but I can say that the online wrestling community has shared all sorts of reactions to the weirdness. A large number are mainly using the picture as a way to troll Buddy Matthews, the AEW wrestler who actually is in a real-life relationship with Rhea Ripley. It's worth noting that Matthews and Ripley don't have any children together either, but some fans like @SqueepsTheGod are thinking that he's feeling the sting all the same, saying:
When it's Father's Day, and she's calling someone else daddy because you're just her Buddy
In reality, WWE fans don't really know if these types of posts bother Buddy Matthews or not. At the same time, many might be able to empathize with him if they thought about how weird it would be to have the public obsessed with one's girlfriend and her pretend on-screen boyfriend. It must be especially weird for Matthews to then see Dominik Mysterio on Twitter, quote-tweeting the post and saying the following:
🖤🖤😘 @RheaRipley_WWE
Even aside from real and kayfabe relationship details, why did Rhea Ripley post a photo of her and Dominik Mysterio with two babies? No one really has an answer to that randomness, and the fact that wrestling fans don't know what to think about it is itself driving them further bonkers. It's such a bizarre photo that even speculating on what it could mean is enough to give someone a headache:
what rhea’s notifications look like now after she posted that father’s day post pic.twitter.com/sVMOZbZKk3June 18, 2023
Rhea Ripley certainly earned quite a wall of reactions on Father's Day, though one would argue she didn't really need it. Dominik Mysterio is set to face his father, Rey Mysterio, in a special Father's Day Street Fight set for the WWE Supershow live event in Charleston, West Virginia. So that could technically be tied to her message, but not in any clear ways. Unfortunately, that match isn't one that can be streamed with a Peacock Premium subscription, though I'm sure Monday Night Raw will showcase some highlights.
As for trying to figure out what's going on with Rhea Ripley's Father's Day post, I'm at a loss. I would just sum it up as a ridiculous post meant to confuse people, without necessarily meaning anything deeper than that. We can either continue to dissect it or share memes of Buddy Matthew's reported reaction to the post. I know which one I'm doing:
Buddy Matthews in the mud. #AEWCollision pic.twitter.com/poXGDgZnN0June 18, 2023
First, he lost his match at AEW: Collision, and now this? All jokes aside, hopefully, all parties involved are able to have a happy Father's Day and not get tied up in any drama related to social media photos at any upcoming WWE events.
Catch Rhea Ripley on Monday Night Raw on Mondays on USA at 8:00 p.m. ET. Money In The Bank is just around the corner, and CinemaBlend decided to rank the most likely winners of the 2023 briefcase for the men's match. Check it out and decide whether we're on point with our recommendations or if someone is too low on the list.
