Backstage News On The Finish Of Rhea Ripley vs. Kairi Sane After Zoey Stark’s Injury, Update On Roxanne Perez & Giulia

As you know by now, Zoey Stark sustained a significant knee injury during her match on last night’s episode of WWE RAW. Due to the injury, she was pulled from the scheduled Triple Threat Money in the Bank qualifying match against Kairi Sane and Rhea Ripley.

The incident occurred when Stark attempted a missile dropkick but landed awkwardly, causing her knee to bend unnaturally. Ringside officials immediately checked on her before she was helped to the back by medical staff. She was later transported to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Michael Cole noted that Stark may have re-aggravated a prior knee injury. She previously suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus in 2021.

The Wrestling Observer has since provided an update on how the match outcome was affected by her sudden absence. According to Bryan Alvarez, Stark was originally booked for several key spots in the match and was supposed to take the pin. Her removal forced Rhea Ripley and Kairi Sane to improvise on the fly.

“The other two had to work an impromptu match since Zoey was going to be doing a bunch of spots and taking the fall, but she was not there,” Alvarez explained. “So they basically just stalled out a long one-on-one match until Rhea pinned her with the… Riptide.”

Dave Meltzer added that having Kairi Sane take the loss in her first match back on RAW was never the original plan. However, given the circumstances, “they had no choice. They had to do what they had to do.”

Sources indicate that “a lot of people” backstage are concerned about the severity of Stark’s injury.

Recently, Roxanne Perez and Giulia briefly joined forces as a tag team on WWE NXT and RAW. However, the alliance quickly dissolved.

Giulia abandoned Perez following an episode of RAW, and the two former champions have since been drafted to different brands.

According to a report from Fightful Select, WWE never intended for the duo to be a long-term team, despite appearances on both NXT and the main roster.

“I [Sean Ross Sapp] never heard of any plans for them as a team—that’s not to say there weren’t any, but nothing I came across. When I asked about Roxanne, I was told she was expected to move to the main roster full-time after January or the Royal Rumble. That didn’t happen, so it seems like their pairing was more of a week-to-week booking decision. Unfortunately, that’s becoming more common.”

On the latest episode of WWE RAW, Perez defeated Becky Lynch and Natalya in a Triple Threat Match to qualify for the Money in the Bank Ladder Match.

Meanwhile, on this Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown, Giulia is set to face Zelina Vega and Charlotte Flair in another qualifier for a spot in the June 7 ladder match.