Ronda Rousey’s WWE debut a matter of “when” not “if”…
Ronda Rousey’s MMA career might be over. Should that be the case, all signs point to her signing a contract with Vince McMahon’s WWE. Rousey is a longtime fan of sports entertainment, and even appeared with the Rock at WrestleMania 31.
WWE has openly expressed their interest in signing Rousey after her MMA career is over. The only holdup of course, is that Rousey has not officially retired from MMA. UFC ownership group, WME-IMG, are rumoured to be pushing her to fight again as well.
Will Rousey Fight Again?
If Ronda knew the answer to that question herself, she would probably say so. If there isn’t a part of her that wants to fight, she’d retire. Similarly, if she was certain she was going to fight again, she’d probably say as such.
Rousey doesn’t need money, doesn’t clamour the attention, but is an intensely focussed athlete. She may feel as though she has something to prove. Despite all of her accomplishments, Rousey might be motivated to end her MMA career on a more positive note.
On the other hand, she might decide to embark on a career in pro-wrestling. Recent evidence suggests she is at least giving the idea some thought.
Ronda Rousey at the Mae Young Classic
Last week WWE taped a 32-woman single-elimination tournament at Full Sail University in Florida. One of the competitors was Shayna Baszler, Rousey’s teammate at Glendale Fighting Club. Baszler was trained in pro-wrestling by former UFC heavyweight champion, Josh Barnett, who also dabbles in both the fictional and non-fictional pugilistic arts.
Rousey showed up to the Mae Young Classic, along with her fellow teammates Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke. Along with Baszler, the four Edmond Tarverdyan students refer to themselves as the “4 Horsewomen”, in reference to the popular Ric Flair-led pro-wrestling stable.
Also at the Mae Young Classic, were “the 4 Horsewomen of NXT” another pro-wrestling stable which includes the daughter of Ric Flair, Charlotte. WWE shot an angle where both factions were sitting ringside and began to trash-talk one another.
Rousey and crew are expected to be in attendance at the finals of the tournament on September 12th to continue the storyline.
The 4-Horsewomen of NXT consists of Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Sasha Banks, who just so happens to be Snoop Dogg’s cousin. Banks was performing with WWE in New Zealand at the time the angle was shot however.
Will UFC Let Rousey Go To WWE?
UFC ownership group, WME-IMG, is said to be putting pressure on Rousey to fight again. Things have been down on PPV for the company this year, and they are hoping another Ronda Rousey fight could change that.
It’s possible that the promotion’s contract with Rousey prevents her from signing with WWE. Depending on the terms of her deal however, she might be free to sign with WWE pending her official retirement from MMA. No official proclamation of retirement has been made however.
Another possible factor into this situation is Brock Lesnar. In the case of Lesnar, he is under contract to WWE but was granted permission by the company to compete against Mark Hunt at UFC 200. Now it is being said that Lesnar is hoping to come out of retirement and may enter the USADA testing pool shortly. Should UFC want Lesnar, and WWE want Rousey, a somewhat obvious solution is available.