WWE Had To Have "A Talk" With "Bitter" Ronda Rousey After Raw Promo

The Rowdy One said to still be "bitter" towards fans who turned on her during her previous run.

by Andrew Pollard
Ronda Rousey
WWE

Having made her WWE return just over a week ago, Ronda Rousey reportedly had to be pulled aside and talked to backstage on her second night back on the job.

Of course, the Rowdy One returned at this year's Royal Rumble premium live event, entering the women's Rumble match at #28 and scoring four eliminations on her way to winning the over-the-top-rope contest.

The following night, Rousey appeared on WWE Raw to confront long-time rival Becky Lynch, teasing a match between Ronda and the Raw Women's Champion at WrestleMania 38. According to Dave Meltzer on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion had to be spoken to backstage about her promo work on that night.

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Some fans had noted that the promo in question from Rousey wasn't exactly the smoothest, with it tough to tell whether she was supposed to be a babyface or a heel. As per Meltzer, Ronda is still said to be legitimately upset and bitter towards fans for how they turned on her during her previous run with the company.

After that backstage talk, any issues have reportedly been dealt with, and the Olympian was notably a lot better on the mic when it came to her appearance on SmackDown four days later. Not just was her promo work better there, but Rousey was clearly in more of a babyface role as she high-fived fans on her way to confronting Charlotte Flair and Sonya Deville.

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For those who missed it, that SmackDown appearance saw Ronda confirm she'll be challenging for Flair's SmackDown Women's Title at this year's WrestleMania. As for Lynch and the Raw Women's Championship, this month's Elimination Chamber event will see a six-woman Chamber bout take place to find a challenger for Big Time Becks' prize.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.