Rhea Ripley sends heartfelt message to surprising WWE employee

Rhea Ripley sent a heartwarming message to a WWE employee ahead of tonight's edition of SmackDown. This week's episode of the blue brand will air live from the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina.

Cody Rhodes recently instructed wrestling fans to sing Happy Birthday to legendary cameraman "Stew." The cameraman then posed with the Undisputed WWE Championship and got a great reaction from the crowd.

Ahead of tonight's episode of WWE SmackDown, Ripley took to social media to send a heartfelt message to the cameraman, and you can check it out in the post below.

"This makes my heart happy! Happy birthday Stew! 🥹" wrote Ripley.

IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley teamed up last month at Crown Jewel 2025 to defeat The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane). The Eradicator defeated Kairi Sane in a singles match on the October 13 edition of RAW and has not competed in a match on the red brand since.

Vince Russo comments on Rhea Ripley's WWE character

Wrestling legend Vince Russo recently shared his thoughts on how Rhea Ripley could improve her character on WWE television.

Speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW show, Russo claimed that he was unsure of what Ripley's gimmick was. He noted that she was not behaving like a Goth and suggested that she become moodier on RAW.

"I could ask you right now what's Rhea Ripley's gimmick? Because Ripley's gimmick is not Goth. That's not how Goth [works], bro. The scenes in the back with her and IYO SKY, that's not Goth, bro. That's not Goth. I mean, she can dress goth all she wants. If she doesn't act goth, then she's not Goth. She's just putting on Goth makeup. So, if you're going to be Goth, be Goth. And you're not going to have those scenes with IYO SKY in the back, man. You're going to be dark. You're going to be moody. You're not going to say a lot. You're going to be in your own little world. Nobody's going to be able to figure you out. That's not her persona," Russo said.

It will be interesting to see what the company has planned for Ripley in the weeks ahead on RAW.

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Edited by Robert Lentini