Ronda Rousey Emphatically Proved That She Belongs At WWE WrestleMania 34

WWE fans heard the hype. They heard about Ronda Rousey’s illustrious MMA career, her devastating arm bar, and her name brand value. At WrestleMania 34, the WWE Universe witnessed just how big of a star Rousey truly is.

The build for Ronda Rousey’s first WWE match was comical, and the highlights were usually someone going through a table or Triple H sucker punching Kurt Angle. But at WrestleMania 34 when Rousey teamed up with Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, the match itself was the furthest thing from comedy.

Intergender wrestling has been a thing for quite some time, but most of it is poorly done, leading many WWE fans to worry that if intergender wrestling took place in this promotion, it would be problematic. Although this mixed tag match wasn’t a true intergender match, it did feature spots where men and women were fighting against each other, with referee Drake Wuertz trying to remind the wrestlers not to do this.

A match like this can easily be poorly done, but it was perfectly constructed. All four members shined brightly, and they milked the drama from every single submission hold, spot, or hopeful tag attempt.

Nobody, however, shined brighter than Rousey.

Credit: WWE Universe On Twitter

The WWE has a lot invested in Rousey, and they won’t hesitate to show you just how much they care about her succeeding. Heck, they even interrupted a good, highly-anticipated match between Cedric Alexander and Mustafa Ali in a critical moment in order to show a split screen of the Rousey hype package.

This was admittedly annoying, but it was all worth it. Because this match was a thousand times better than it had any right to be, and Rousey was the star at the center of it all.

During the build to this feud, fans complained about Rousey’s facial expressions and noted that her promos were only “meh”. But in the ring, Rousey was at home, and her facial expressions were,as the kids say, “on point”. She sold everything beautifully, and she seemed legitimately pissed whenever Stephanie slighted her or Triple H cheated.

Rousey mixed it up with Triple H, and everything looked like a million bucks, including when she put him in an armbar. And when she finally submitted Stephanie at the end? Goosebumps. Pure goosebumps. Because when Stephanie couldn’t block Rousey’s submission like she had time after time before, Rousey simply told the Raw commissioner, “Sorry, too late,” before locking in her submission. Stephanie immediately tapped out for a satisfying conclusion.

Credit: WWE Universe on Twitter

Throughout the match, the crowd was hot for Rousey, quickly confirming that she is one of the most over babyfaces on the roster already. They chanted, “We want, Ronda!” and “This is awesome!” They were on the edge of their seat throughout the match, and not just because Kurt Angle and Triple H were tearing it up.

They were mesmerized because Rousey was tearing it up. They were witnessing the birth of a superstar in WWE.

Rousey isn’t just a big name. She moved around the ring with more grace and power than most wrestlers on this roster, and it was just her first match. You can tell that all the talk about the hours she’s put in to train ever since joining WWE hasn’t been just smoke; she legitimately wants this as badly as anyone.

And after last night, she has it. As she smiled down the ramp at the overwhelming number of raucous WWE fans in the Superdome, you could tell that she belongs. When she bumped off the ring post, fell on her face from attacks by Stephanie and Triple H, countered the Pedigree, and locked in submission holds, you knew that she belongs.

Next: WrestleMania 34 Live Review, Highlights, Grades, and Analysis

A match like this can easily be a hokey train wreck. Tonight, thanks to the contributions of everyone involved, it was an announcement to the rest of the world.

Ronda Rousey is a WWE Superstar. And she’s a damn good one.