Rhea Ripley was initially ‘standoffish’ about teaming with Nikki A.S.H.

WWE is quite fond of odd pairings in its tag team divisions, and there may not be any more odd of a pairing than Rhea Ripley and Nikki A.S.H.

Ripley, who wears black and is all about brutality, was initially unsure of the idea of teaming with Nikki, who is a ball of positive energy and is all about being something like a superhero. That’s what she told TV Insider:

“At first I was a little bit standoffish. But she is growing on me. She is such a good person, warm-hearted and positive. Sometimes you just need someone like that behind you, especially when you’re someone like me who just goes out there and brutalizes people. Sometimes I need to calm down a little bit, so I’m glad to have Nikki by my side. To be honest, I’m having the time of my life right now in this tag team. It’s a lot of fun. I do miss singles competition and do love it, but there are always times for a change. Right now, I think the fact we won the women’s tag team championship is truly incredible. And to do it with someone like Nikki and was in NXT when I first started. I really looked up to her. To hold these titles with her is truly extraordinary.”

Ripley had been going toe-to-toe with Charlotte Flair over the Raw women’s championship before she was moved into this tag team with Nikki. It seemed like something of a step down, but the two are making the most of this run, having won the tag team titles and now drifting between shows. There’s no telling how long it will last, but it sounds like it’s doing good things for Ripley in the meantime.