WWE 5 Burning Questions: Authors Of Pain To Debut Soon?

Credit: WWE.com

4. Will Ronda Rousey be able to work around her limitations?

It is not easy to transition from the UFC to the WWE. The elements of creating one’s own personality and character remain the same. Regardless, with the WWE’s heavy reliance on story telling and characters, one has to do a bit more convincing role at portraying themselves. So far, Ronda Rousey has not done that. To be honest, I’ve felt this right from the time she interrupted the proceedings at the Royal Rumble.

Yes she is a babyface, and yes the crowd pops for her. But does all that smiling and calm face really go with the nickname ‘Rowdy’? Moreover, at times it feels like creative is presenting a mere caricature of the person we saw inside the Octagon. Rousey is a badass. Her character needs to emit that bad ass aura much like Brock Lesnar. As of now, her promos are flat and fall all over the place. She has issues with timing and perhaps, reacting to the live crowd while maintaining the flow of the story.

There is no doubt in her ability to work a good match in the ring. She knows the moves. She has the skill and the awareness. However, she is not polished enough yet. Compare her to Shayna Baszler who has been doing a much better job at NXT. If you haven’t checked her out yet you should do so ASAP. It will show how much Rousey has to work on her timing and presence. Even her attack on Stephanie this week was off and lacked the timing it needed.

Hence the big question, will she be able to get into grove in time for WrestleMania? Or will creative essentially waste a WrestleMania spot for someone who isn’t ready for it yet?