After a very strong start to the year in WWE, Rhea Ripley’s 2026 was derailed by a knee injury that has kept her on the sidelines since June.

With Ripley’s absence continuing well into the Summer, a new Interim WWE Women’s Champion was crowned with Chelsea Green climbing a ladder to earn that title at SummerSlam.

Now, a further two months on, and one knee surgery later, we still have no idea when Ripley will be able to return, making it seem more and more likely that we may not see her back until the Road to WrestleMania 43.

With that in mind, here are three potential plans for Rhea Ripley when she eventually returns to WWE.

WWE Women’s Title Unification Match with Tiffany Stratton

When WWE announced the Interim WWE Women’s Championship, the idea was that Ripley would eventually face off with whoever holds that title when she makes her return.

WWE haven’t outright said that that isn’t in the cards anymore, but they also haven’t been referring to Chelsea Green as the interim champ; casting some doubt as to whether a title unification match is still in the cards or not.

WWE should have really just vacated the title and avoided all of this mess, as it’s safe to assume that Ripley will be seeking a rematch for the title she never lost when she makes her comeback anyway.

Regardless of the semantics of the match, WWE should be booking Ripley against whoever holds SmackDown’s top title when she is fit to come back. And while Chelsea Green currently holds that title, a Money in the Bank cash-in from Tiffany Stratton is looming.

Rather than forcing fans to choose between Green and Ripley, Stratton would give fans a clear heel to root against – something they will have no problem doing if she does stab Green in the back beforehand.

Royal Rumble win

Rhea Ripley is among the favorites to win the 2027 Women’s Royal Rumble match, and if she hasn’t returned to action before the event, it’s easy to see why she’d be considered as such.

A strike against Ripley however, is the aforementioned title unification match, but there’s always a chance that we’ve already seen that match happen by the time the Royal Rumble comes around.

If WWE decide to instead scrap that idea entirely, they could always save Ripley’s return for the Rumble itself and have her earn her Women’s Title rematch by winning the match.

IYO SKY WrestleMania 43 match

Perhaps THE match fans have been wanting to see at WrestleMania in recent years is Rhea Ripley vs. IYO SKY.

With Ripley never beating SKY, and the pair putting on classics every time they face off, it’s easy to see the appeal of another meeting, only this time at WWE’s biggest stage.

The best thing is that Ripley vs. SKY doesn’t even need a world championship to feel like an important match, and one worthy of taking place at WrestleMania 43.