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Liv Morgan really had some nerve. Rhea Ripley couldn’t even entirely be mad about it. Just when things seemed to finally be settling down between herself and Iyo Sky, Liv of course had to insert herself into the conversation. It was her style. It was what she did best. Liv had a way of making her statements. Sometimes they were subtle. Sometimes they were overt. Regardless, they always came across and they could be brutal.
It all started on Raw when she interrupted Rhea and Iyo. They were announcing for the Royal Rumble. As per usual, Liv wanted to upstage the moment to give Iyo a ‘warning’.
“See, with Rhea Ripley, how it always works is that she’s gonna turn her back on her tag team partner at the end of the day.”
Rhea had wanted to defend herself, but she felt Iyo cling to her tightly.
“I know, and I know because she’s done it to me”, Liv continued. “But Iyo, where you are going to luck out is that her selfishness is always gonna get the better of her, leaving her with nothing and no one.” Liv then did an obnoxious fake cry. To top it all, they also announced their participation in the Rumble and then Raquel Rodriguez came in to start an ambush.
She had hoped that her animosity towards Liv had played itself out, but that clearly was not the case. This was about more than the gold. This was about revenge. It wasn’t enough to have kicked her and Damien Priest out from the Judgement Day. It wasn’t enough to have taken Dom. Liv wanted to take this, too.
Iyo and Rhea picked themselves up and dusted themselves off. They prepared for the match, but Rhea felt a cold knot of rage inside her. She tried to keep it at bay, to focus on the task at hand. Iyo seemed to notice this and didn’t press too much, but it was obvious to her that Liv had achieved her goal of rattling Rhea emotionally.
Rhea and Iyo successfully fended off Liv and Roxanne Perez’s challenge for the tag titles, but it hadn’t been easy. Just when it seemed that Iyo was going to win the day, out came Raquel to take out the referee. Then she powerbombed Iyo to the ground outside the ring. Rhea was incensed, but in the blink of an eye Stephanie Vaquer arrived to neutralize Raquel and prevent her from interfering any further.
This wasn’t the end of this encounter, however. Roxanne pinned Iyo, and they only barely managed to keep the match going. Liv landed Oblivion on Iyo without realizing that Rhea had been tagged in. Rhea grabbed her and slammed her down with a Riptide of her own and she and Iyo managed to retain the titles.
Being a champion and having gold was like this. You would be fending off challenges from all sides, and it could be relentless. When Rhea stacked up Liv for the pin it was about more than retaining. She wanted to send a message of her own.
When they were hearing the words ‘AND STILL’, Rhea didn’t even care about the belt they were handing her. Her first thought was for Iyo. She’d really been through it this match. Roxanne and Liv had given them quite the challenge. Iyo was woozy, but well. Thankfully she didn’t seem to be any worse for wear.
They headed backstage to do their usual post match routine, but Rhea’s mind was occupied. She was distracted. She was pissed for multiple reasons. She was mad at herself for not preparing for Raquel’s arrival. Her interference should have been obvious. She was mad at Roxanne for all of her cheap shots. She was mad at Liv for what she had said and done. She was mad at herself for not being able to dismiss out of hand Liv’s words to Iyo prior to their match.
It put a damper on the mood. The cloud hung over her for the rest of the night. Iyo let it go for a while but, on the drive home, she decided she’d finally had enough.
“Rhea, talk to me.” Iyo’s hand was on her knee, as de rigeur these days. Even this couldn’t help Rhea’s mood.
“It’s…it’s nothing.” Rhea attempted to deflect.
“You and I both know it’s not ‘nothing’. Just tell me. Let me help.” Iyo demanded.
“It’s nothing.” Rhea growled.
Iyo sighed but decided to drop it for the time being. Rhea parked the car and got them to the hotel room. They did their nightly routines, but Rhea was restless. Distracted. Even after her shower and socials updates she was still wound up. Too wound up to even enjoy Iyo’s stretches before bed. She paced back and forth.
She had been content to drop it earlier but as time wore on this was getting on Iyo’s nerves.
“Rhea…” she tried to keep her voice calm.
“Yes?” Rhea’s response was terse.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Iyo was mentally counting down from 10 so as not to explode.
“Nothing to talk about.” Rhea snapped.
“There is or you wouldn’t be this way! Talk to me! I’m here!” Iyo demanded.
“Everything’s fine!” Rhea growled.
“No, it’s not!” Iyo’s frustration grew and she finally slipped back into Japanese.
“I’m gonna go for a run.” Rhea was getting ready to get dressed again and head for the door, but Iyo grasped her wrist and pulled her back.
“Rhea…please…” Iyo’s voice was choked with emotion. And Rhea finally looked into her eyes.
“Iyo…” She felt as though she were looking into her eyes for the first time. And she realized right then that she was being boorish. “Iyo…I’m sorry.” Iyo leapt into her arms and Rhea held her tightly. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
Rhea always hated these sullen silences with others. She hated knowing something was bothering someone she cherished and they wouldn’t talk to her. Yet here she was, doing the same thing to Iyo. She sighed. Melted.
“Talk to me. Please…” Iyo tightly hugged Rhea in turn.
“Am I…selfish?” Rhea asked, quietly.
“What?” Iyo pulled back to look up at Rhea.
“Am I selfish? What if Liv’s right? About me?” The words came out of her throat as though a dagger was attached to each of them.
“Rhea…” Iyo took Rhea’s hands in each one of hers. “Am I selfish?”
“What do you mean?” Rhea was genuinely surprised at the question.
“I betrayed Bayley. Does that make me selfish?” Iyo asked.
“No…No…you did what you had to do. What you felt was right.” Rhea replied.
“And the same goes for you. You left Liv and joined the Judgement Day. You did what you thought was best. Because getting to the top in this industry is…hard. And lonely.” Iyo continued.
“Well yeah, but…” Rhea was about to say more when Iyo pressed a finger to her lips.
“I left Damage CTRL. I don’t regret that. Do you regret leaving Judgement Day?”
“No.” Rhea shook her head.
“Do you regret helping me?”
“No!” Rhea’s response was vehement. Firm. She squeezed Iyo’s hands.
“I can’t regret the decisions that took me here. To us.” Iyo’s eyes burned as she spoke.
“I don’t…I’d never regret that. Regret this.” Rhea hugged Iyo tightly. She kissed the top of her head. It occurred to her that both of them seemed reluctant to attach a label or define what ‘this’ was, but she decided not to push it.
Iyo wrapped her arms around Rhea. “I don’t care what Liv says. We both have a past. We don’t know the future. Let’s focus on the here and now.”
“Here and now…?” Rhea repeated it. Thoughtful. She pulled back to press her forehead to Iyo’s. “So what do you want to do…here and now?”
“Well, right now…I wanted you to stop pacing. And you did. So I’m satisfied.” Iyo smiled.
Rhea huffed a laugh. “You make it all seem so simple.”
“Because it is. We can complicate things, but we don’t have to. It’s just better to focus on what we know is true.” Iyo continued.
“And what is it that you know is true?” Rhea asked. Her eyes locked on Iyo’s. A beat of silence passed between them.
Iyo, it seemed, was content to demure for now. “I know that we both should probably get some sleep. The Rumble is soon. And we have a match with Stephanie tomorrow.”
Rhea chuckled softly. She kissed Iyo again. Slowly this time. She basked in the closeness. “…You make that sound simple, too.”
“Because it is.” Iyo nodded.
Then she took Rhea’s hand, guided her into bed, and shut off the lights. She snuggled into Rhea’s arms, head on her chest.
“Nite, chipmunk.” Rhea murmured.”
“G’night…” Iyo yawned.
Rhea closed her eyes and as she was just about to reach a deep sleep, she was absolutely sure she heard Iyo say something.
Once again, Iyo whispered “Aishteru, Rhea-San.”
And once again Rhea didn’t entirely know what that meant. But the sentiment was clear enough. She tucked it away. She would ask about that later. They were both trying to focus on the here and now.