Rhea Ripley’s reign as the WWE Women’s Champion could soon be heading in an unexpected direction, as a new report suggests Mami may have a fresh challenger in the form of Jacy Jayne waiting at SummerSlam 2026.
The groundwork for a Ripley vs. Jayne showdown has already been established since WrestleMania 42. Shortly after Ripley won the title from Jade Cargill, she found herself targeted by Fatal Influence.
Their rivalry intensified on the April 24 episode of SmackDown when General Manager Nick Aldis made an impromptu match official between Ripley and Jayne. Despite a tough fight from Jayne, the contest ended in Ripley’s favor via disqualification after Henley and Reid interfered, resulting in a three-on-one assault on the champion.
Rather than backing down, the WWE Women’s Champion repeatedly welcomed the challenge.
Fatal Influence continued to utilize its numbers advantage. Although Ripley remained defiant, the feud became complicated once Cargill re-entered the picture.
Cargill aligned herself with B-Fab and Michin in retaliatory attacks against Fatal Influence. The chaos culminated in massive multi-woman brawls that frequently left Ripley vulnerable to attacks from multiple directions as she tried to deal with several threats at once.
Against that backdrop, revisiting Ripley and Jayne as a one-on-one championship program makes some sense.
Jacy Jayne earned her spot as Rhea Ripley’s next potential challenger at SummerSlam
According to reports, WWE has internally discussed booking a WWE Women’s Championship match between Ripley and rising star Jacy Jayne at SummerSlam, which is scheduled to take place on August 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
While WWE has yet to officially announce the match, the proposed matchup has reportedly been pitched as plans are being finalized for the biggest PLE of summer.
For Jayne, a SummerSlam title opportunity would represent the biggest singles match of her WWE career. Since arriving on the main roster alongside Fatal Influence, she has steadily evolved into one of SmackDown’s most promising heels. A championship match against Rhea Ripley would further cement her status as a legitimate threat in the women’s division.
As of now, it all remains an internal pitch. WWE’s plans can always change before the event.
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