42-year-old former WWE champion may be the one to dethrone Rhea Ripley following recent face turn

Rhea Ripley successfully defended her Women's World Championship against Natalya this week on WWE RAW, but the veteran put up quite the fight. It was a brutal encounter, and Nattie forced Ripley to work for it, before the latter emerged victorious.

While there are now rumors pointing toward a match between Raquel Rodriguez and Rhea Ripley at SummerSlam, it could be interesting if Shayna Baszler was to finally enter the discussion.

Baszler recently turned her back on Ronda Rousey and is still in search of her first singles championship on the main roster. Baszler dominated NXT throughout her time there and was able to lift the Championship on two occasions, but she has failed to replicate that success since her promotion to the main roster.

Now that Baszler is a face, she should be someone pushed into Rhea Ripley's way in the coming months. This should be done soon as she has found a way past Ronda Rousey and been able to make their storyline headline news.

Shayna Baszler was once unbeatable in a WWE ring

Shayna Baszler was once a name that many women feared, especially Dakota Kai, who will still remember their issues from NXT. She was part of a dominant streak that allowed her to brush aside all challengers for her NXT Championship before she was promoted to the main roster.

Baszler could return to this mindset and easily find a way past Rhea Ripley to take the Women's World Championship back to a place where it is pushed in the Women's Division.

Rhea Ripley hasn't been as focused on the WWE Women's Division in recent months, and there has been a lot of backlash online stemming from this, leading to fans pushing for a new champion.

Do you think Shayna Baszler could finally be the one to dethrone Rhea Ripley? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.