It’s rare to hear pro wrestlers praise their fiercest rivals, but Rhea Ripley has bucked the trend with her recent comments about her former WrestleMania opponent, Bianca Belair.

Ripley and Belair’s rivalry has spanned several years, beginning during their time in “WWE NXT,” when they were both young wrestlers aiming to make it to the big leagues, to eventually wrestling each other at WrestleMania. A few days before WrestleMania 42, Ripley spoke to “SHAK Wrestling” about Belair and how WWE doesn’t feel the same without her presence. 

“It’s not the same. It’s honestly not the same without Bianca there. I miss her. I hope that she comes back soon, but at the same time I also hope she’s living her best life not having to go to work for a little bit. Yeah, like she’s busted her a*s for so long. They’ve literally made her do so much and work so much. She deserves the time off. I wish it was under a better circumstance because that finger be looking nasty,” she said.

Belair has been out of action due to a finger injury, which she sustained at WrestleMania 41 in her match with Ripley and IYO Sky. Ripley said that Belair has shown her photos of her injured finger, which doesn’t look great. However, she hopes to see her back soon, but only after she has fully recovered, as she risks breaking it again if it hasn’t completely healed.

“Like, it’s shocked me that she’s been out for nearly a year from a finger injury. Something that seems so small is something that’s so big,” she said. “And she’s doing rehab every single day and I’m looking forward to the day that she does come back, but I don’t know how long that’s going to be  unfortunately ’cause you need your finger to bend in wrestling, otherwise you’re going to break it again.”

It may be a little while before Ripley and Belair can face off in a WWE ring as the latter announced at WrestleMania 42 that she is pregnant.