WWE will crown its first ever main roster interim champion at SummerSlam after Rhea Ripley's knee injury

[Marnie84]

Rhea Ripley tore her meniscus defending the WWE Women's Championship against Jade Cargill at Clash in Italy back on May 31, and despite hopes she could recover in time, WWE has confirmed she will miss SummerSlam. Rather than stripping her of the title, WWE is crowning a first ever main roster interim champion through a five woman ladder match, with the winner facing Ripley once she returns to determine who holds the undisputed title. Ripley herself said the tear sat in an awkward spot that made recovery slower than expected, and that she still cannot bend or squat properly months later

The injury forced a real reshuffle of SummerSlam plans. A planned singles match between Jade Cargill and Charlotte Flair was scrapped, and Women's US Champion Tiffany Stratton, originally set to defend her title in her home state of Minnesota, was moved into the ladder match instead. Cargill and Stratton have already qualified, Charlotte Flair booked her spot by beating Nia Jax via disqualification on the July 24 SmackDown after Cargill interfered, and the final spots are being filled through qualifying matches over the two weeks leading into the show

WWE has never crowned an interim champion on its main roster in its 73 year history, the only precedent being NXT's interim cruiserweight title in 2020 when travel restrictions kept a champion off television. Internally, sources say there was a strong push to let Ripley take as much time as she needs rather than risk a rushed return worsening the injury, with the company hopeful she will be medically cleared by fall. SummerSlam takes place August 1 and 2 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis

Rhea Ripley injury update: WWE books interim womenwww.cbssports.com