• WWE’s Current WrestleMania 42 Plan For Rhea Ripley After Title Win On RAW
WWE’s women’s division is being booked with separation between television momentum and WrestleMania 42 planning, and the new tag champions are a clear example of that approach.
Despite capturing the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship on this week’s RAW, Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY are not being positioned together for WrestleMania 42. According to Self Made Pro, the title change was not designed to set up any long-term WrestleMania direction.
The win over The Kabuki Warriors was framed internally as part of WWE’s broader television strategy rather than a roadmap to April. Sources said the company is focused on filling a heavy stretch of weekly programming between now and WrestleMania 42, which means top talent will be rotated through multiple storylines that are not intended to pay off at the biggest show of the year.
As a result, short-term directions over the next several weeks should not be read as final plans. WWE expects some angles in February to appear WrestleMania-adjacent before quietly pivoting, a pattern that has been communicated internally.
One point was made clear by Self Made Pro: Ripley is slated for a singles match at WrestleMania 42. Her involvement in the tag division is considered temporary and unrelated to her eventual WrestleMania role. No definitive direction was specified for SKY, but Ripley’s path is not expected to involve the tag titles by the time April arrives.
While nothing is known about Ripley’s WrestleMania 42 opponent right now, WWE did book a face-off between WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill and Ripley on a recent episode of SmackDown.
• Why Tiffany Stratton Has Been Off WWE TV
Tiffany Stratton lost the WWE Women’s Championship to Jade Cargill on the November 1, 2025, edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event. The Buff Barbie hasn’t appeared on WWE programming since that loss. David Scherer of PWInsider explained why Tiffany has been off WWE TV:
“Paul Levesque is doing something that has become a trope for him when some champions lose their titles. He takes them off of TV to recharge them for when they return. It’s a smart move in my opinion. It makes sense to not remind everyone how someone just lost.”
WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select recently reported that Stratton is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Royal Rumble week activities, which could mean that the former champion will compete in the 30-woman Royal Rumble match.
Tiffany was featured in the women’s WrestleMania 42 promo as well. She recently attended Maxxine Dupri’s wedding.
