It finally happened. Ever since Ronda Rousey showed up alongside The Rock at WrestleMania 31, fans of both WWE and the UFC have speculated as to when the former “baddest woman on the planet” would make the full-time jump into pro wrestling.
It seemed like the stars had aligned perfectly for Ronda Rousey to debut this past Sunday at the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia, PA.
We had seen her lose her last two UFC fights. We had seen footage of her leaving a private dinner with Triple H & Stephanie McMahon just a few weeks ago. She had just popped up on social media for the first time in months to make sure we all knew that she was “busy” filming a movie in another country. Her longtime friend, Shayna Baszler had recently debuted full-time with WWE on the NXT brand. And most importantly, Ronda is a lifelong pro wrestling fan.
I wanted Ronda Rousey to debut as much as anyone out there. I even picked her to win the entire Women’s Royal Rumble match if she were to enter. I’ve been waiving the Ronda Rousey flag for years, telling anyone who would listen that she’d be an even bigger star with WWE than she was at her peak with the UFC & Strikeforce.
Source:
WWE.com
While I was watching the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match, all I had in the back of my mind was, “Is it about to happen? Will we actually get Ronda next?”
With each countdown from 10 to 1, the loud buzzer and the epic pause between entrance music, I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation. As the match went on and we got closer and closer to entrant #30, my anticipation was through the roof. I even noticed some ESPN reporters sitting in the front row during the match. I was 99% sure that Rousey was in the house. But there was still that small bit of doubt.
The match was nearing its’ end and the countdown started for entry #30. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6… (I’m losing my mind) 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…. **BUZZ** …” and out walks Trish Stratus.
Now don’t get me wrong, if ANYONE deserved to have a special spot in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match, it’s Trish Stratus. She’s arguably the best female performer in WWE history. But I, along with thousands (if not millions) of fans wanted Ronda Rousey.
The match eventually ended with Asuka keeping her undefeated streak alive and was crowned the winner of the Women’s Royal Rumble.
The night seemed to be over with Asuka teasing the fans in the ring (along with Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss) as to who she would challenge for their World Title at WrestleMania. When all of a sudden… “I don’t give a damn ‘bout my reputation” blares from the speakers inside the arena with a Roddy Piper inspired graphic on the mega-tron. “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey had arrived.
I was losing my mind. It was finally here. It had finally happened. The main pioneer in women’s MMA and the woman who helped spark an entire movement in women’s sports is now with the WWE. But then, I noticed something devastating. Ronda was smiling. She just seemed happy to be there. This was not good.
The first question on my mind as I was watching this unfold was, “If Ronda was there, why wouldn’t she be used in the actual Rumble match itself?” But then I thought, “Well, she probably isn’t ready yet to wrestle in the ring so WWE figured it would be smarter to give her more time to prepare for her in-ring debut”. Fair enough. I can live with that.
What I couldn’t get over was that look on her face. She looked way too happy. She looked like she wanted the fans to be on her side. She looked like a WWE fan that was living a dream by becoming a part of the roster. She did the exact opposite of what she needed to.
Ronda Rousey should not be booked like a woman that’s just happy to be a part of pro wrestling. Ronda needs to be presented like a female Brock Lesnar. Her attitude should be that she doesn’t care about the other women on the WWE roster because she’s there to kick ass and win championships.
When Ronda got into the ring with Asuka, Bliss & Flair things got even worse. She walked around awkwardly, stood around, tried to shake hands, and then just kept pointing to the giant WrestleMania sign in the arena.
Source:
WWE.com
No message. No warning. No talking. No physical contact. Just pointing and walking around.
Keep in mind, this all happened AFTER the Rumble match was over which just made everything that much more confusing.
To be fair once again, maybe WWE isn’t confident in Rousey’s mic skills. She isn’t the best at speaking to the public. She notoriously stopped doing almost all interviews after her loss to Holly Holm and refuses to even address it to this day. She won’t talk about her loss to current UFC bantamweight champion, Amanda Nunes publicly either.
If I’m WWE, I pair Ronda with Paul Heyman immediately to give her the mouthpiece that she needs.
Heyman has done absolute wonders for Brock Lesnar and can be booked almost identically to how Brock is. Rousey should stand next to Heyman while he tells the WWE Universe about how his client doesn’t respect any of the women in the WWE and she’s here to show them what a REAL fighter and champion looks like. Her goal should be to continue her legacy of dominance that she started during her MMA career.
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Rousey should have kicked someone’s ass in the ring to close the show, even if it was just a few punches and judo throws. What we don’t need, is a happy-go-lucky Ronda who’s just excited to be there.
The WWE still has a massive opportunity with Ronda Rousey going forward, but in my opinion this was a bad start.