WWE rumor: Rhea Ripley to remain away from competing at WWE Night of Champions due to injury concerns

WWE fans are quite disappointed as Rhea Ripley's injury will force her to stay away from the Night of Champions event. This development has further fueled speculation that the Women's Champion may be sidelined longer than initially expected.Adding to the speculation, WWE has already removed Ripley from the marketing for this month's Night of Champions Premium Live Event. Earlier, when the official poster for the annual Saudi Arabia PLE was unveiled earlier this month, it prominently featured WWE Champion Cody Rhodes front and center, alongside Ripley, Women's World Champion Liv Morgan, and Men's United States Champion Trick Williams.It is to be noted that Ripley did not appear last week during SmackDown as she was already suffering from a severe knee injury, which prompted her to stay away from the WWE events.

Rhea Ripley's knee injury forces WWE Night of Champions promotional change

WWE Champion Rhea Ripley’s knee injury has sidelined her from appearing at the WWE Night of Champions promotional change, and even from the event as well, which is slated to happen from June 27, 2026, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But WWE has not confirmed whether Ripley will be medically cleared in time to participate.According to the latest reports, Rhea Ripley has now been replaced on the official Night of Champions poster by Women's United States Champion Tiffany Stratton, and Mami is currently undergoing weekly evaluation for the knee injury she suffered at Clash in Italy.

Her knee injury might also affect her availability at the upcoming SummerSlam event. According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select, WWE is waiting to determine the severity of Ripley's injury and whether she will have to miss SummerSlam on Aug. 1 and 2 in Minneapolis. However, nothing has been confirmed so far, neither by Ripley nor WWE.Apart from appearing at RAW and SmackDown, the last time the Women’s Champion appeared in a main event was at some European live events earlier this month, and her most recent televised match was a victory over Jade Cargill at Clash in Italy on May 31.In addition to this, Ripley also beat Cargill for the WWE Women's Championship at WrestleMania 42 in April, and the win over Cargill at Clash in Italy represented the first successful defense of her WrestleMania title.Meanwhile, Night of Champions is expected to feature several major matches, including the King and Queen of the Ring tournament finals, a steel cage showdown between Seth Rollins and Bron Breakker, and a United States Championship defense by Trick Williams. For now, fans will have to wait for further medical updates as WWE continues to monitor Rhea Ripley’s status ahead of one of the most anticipated WWE events, like SummerSlam.