WWE Raw: Results, Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for March 19

Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle take a training brake. (Photo Source: WWE.com via Twitter)

Ronda Rousey Retrospective

If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, WWE is going to make Ronda Rousey the face of the company before too long.

Like the Bliss/Jax video earlier in the show, this is a masterclass in video marketing. They are selling Rousey as the baddest human being on the planet, no matter sex or gender. All the main points are there: big WWE fan, hard worker, tough, dominant in UFC for a time, and so on.

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Honestly, I think it’s a huge gamble, but it’s ultimately going to pay off. Don’t forget, Rousey has been a champion in UFC, but she has had as many pro wrestling matches as I have: none. And unless I didn’t get a message a few months ago, I’m not headed to New Orleans in three weeks.

But Rousey is. I don’t want to compare her to Lawrence Taylor, because he was a coked up football legend and not a wrestling-based mixed martial artist. However, Taylor did make his pro wrestling debut at WrestleMania – in the main freaking event – and it was the hottest of hot garbage.

Going all in on Rousey is nowhere near as big a risk as putting so much faith in Taylor. WWE isn’t going to have to surround the ring with a bunch of other ex-football guys, like future Horseman Mongo McMichael. And as much as I love Bam Bam Bigelow, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are a totally different animal. I think Ronda will be fine at Mania and beyond.