Their rivalry stretches back to 2018 and the semi-finals of the second (and to this point final) Mae Young Classic tournament, when one of them went by a different name and the other had an almost entirely differently look and persona. So when Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY decided to stop feuding over gold and focus on friendship, there were already fans who’d been rooting for — and writing about — them teaming online.
On places like tumblr and Ao3 (IYKYK), the Ripley/SKY partnership was given the name
RHIYO, a portmanteau of their first names that’s known as a ship (short for relationship) name. Whether that was the inspiration for WWE pairing up two of their biggest stars or just a coincidence, the company has happily embraced it as a nickname* for the team…
… and now that the pair have gold around their waists, WWE is making it even more official. Ripley and SKY are now listed as RHIYO on WWE.com’s champions list:
And it’s on the Women’s Tag titleholders’ new merch, which also features one of the chummy pics from their championship photo shoot:
And if you don’t think any of this is a big deal, that’s okay. Just know that for some, it is…
And that’s all WWE needs to know:
* WWE’s presenting it more as one of those tabloid celebrity names like “KimYe” or “Bennifer” than how it’s sometimes used online, but they’re giving the fanfic crowd plenty to work with too.
