IYO SKY has voiced support for her former tag team partner Rhea Ripley, stating that while she hates seeing her friend sidelined with an injury, the time away could ultimately benefit her long-term career.
SKY and Ripley, who previously held the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship as “Rhiyo,” ended their on-screen partnership amicably earlier this year. Shortly thereafter, Ripley was forced out of action after suffering a torn meniscus during WWE’s European tour in June, requiring surgery and rehab.
Speaking on The Ringer Wrestling Show, SKY revealed that while she isn’t a frequent communicator over text or phone, she fully understands why Ripley needed to step back from the ring:
“So, I’m not a texting person. I’m not phone call person. So we haven’t talked too much, like talk, talk, talk. But I totally understand what she’s doing and why she needed to take time for now.”
SKY emphasized the relentless nature of Ripley’s schedule prior to the injury, noting the physical toll of balancing international travel, main event matches, and media appearances:
“Because she — I really know she was being too busy, way busier than me. She was all over the world. She had main events, she had championship match, and she had media interviews. I was thinking about when we were Rhiyo, like she had been to Crown Jewel in Australia, Perth, and she was crazy busy. I always watching by her. And, yeah, sometimes I think about her, oh my gosh, she’s overworking, something like that.”
Ripley previously opened up about the intense physical pressure she puts on herself, revealing that she suffered a severe panic attack and backstage collapse following WWE Crown Jewel in October 2025. While she pushed through that incident without taking time off, the June 2026 knee injury made a break mandatory.
Despite the difficult setback, SKY remains confident in her former partner’s eventual return:
“Now she’s injured, that makes me sad, but definitely she needs time to take time, definitely she needs. But also I know her personality, she will come back when she is become much stronger than before.”
Internal reports indicate WWE management is taking a cautious approach, pushing for Ripley to achieve a full recovery rather than rushing her back to television.
RELATED: Rhea Ripley Injury Update: No Timeline For WWE Return
For more roster updates, interview highlights, and injury reports, visit WrestlingAttitude.com.
WA on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/wrestlingattitude/
WA on Facebook (Women's Wrestling) - https://www.facebook.com/WrestlingDivas/
WA on X/Twitter - https://x.com/wa_wrestling
WA on Instagram (Women's Wrestling) - https://www.instagram.com/wa_wrestlingattitude/
WA on Google News - https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMJf3owsw2oG8Aw
WA on Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/wrestlingattitude.bsky.social
