Ronda Rousey: "Women Are Headlining WWE Because Of Me" (WWE News)
Former WWE star Ronda Rousey takes full credit for women reaching main events.
Ronda Rousey is happy to take full credit for the fact that women have been headlining WWE events on and off for years. She told Sports Illustrated's 'The Takedown': "I’m very aware that women are headlining WWE because of me".
That'll ruffle some feathers.
Being fair, Ronda did have a huge impact on female combat sports during her time in UFC/MMA. However, many pro wrestling fans will point to names like Becky Lynch, Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks/Mercedes Mone and others first and foremost; certainly in the wrestling sphere. Before that, stars such as Trish Status and Lita had been game-changers in the industry.
They main-evented an episode of Raw long before Rousey was even around. Of course, Ronda's crossover star appeal coming from MMA did feel exciting when she first showed up at WrestleMania 31 in 2016, and her debut match (a mixed tag with Kurt Angle vs. Triple H and Stephanie McMahon) at 'Mania 34 in 2018 was undeniably excellent.
However, much of Ronda's WWE run across multiple spells proved to be a disappointment. She also clashed with the fanbase once they began booing her, and never seemed to get how the biz works from a character perspective. By the end, she bowed out with a miserable 'MMA Rules' showing vs. Shayna Baszler at SummerSlam 2023.
Rousey added that she's "very, very proud" of everything she did to put eyeballs on the women's division in WWE, as well as in real-world sports generally. She doesn't think she or anyone else will ever be able to fully comprehend just how important her work is/was.