ADELAIDE, June 9 -- The first time Rhea Ripley saw professional wrestling up close, she was a teenager watching a big Australian called Bronson Reed throw people around at local shows in South Australia. Years later, both of them are on the same WWE roster, one sidelined by a torn bicep, the other carrying a championship that has come to define an era for women's wrestling.

Reed, 37, disclosed the connection in an interview with WrestlingNews.co ahead of the 2024 Royal Rumble, and while the quote made the rounds briefly at the time, the full weight of what he described has only grown since. "When she was a teenager, she used to come watch me as a fan, funnily enough," Reed told WrestlingNews.co, "and then I was able to actually watch her...