Fansided

Why the Ronda Rousey segment at WWE Royal Rumble bothered me

By Luke Norris

Photo credit: WWE.com
Photo credit: WWE.com /
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Ronda Rousey showed up at the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble on Sunday night, and it didn’t quite sit right with me.

So there I am watching the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble on Sunday night. We got a two-hour kickoff show with a few decent bouts but nothing spectacula,r and then the main card got rolling with a solid WWE Championship Match and a good tag match and everything was going just fine. But then we got a big surprise as the Men’s Royal Rumble Match was booked third for the evening, which meant that the Women’s Rumble Match was going on last. Wow, what a thrill. And I truly do mean that. I’ve been wanting this to happen for years, and I was so happy that these remarkable women were getting yet another main event, especially one at a show as big as the Royal Rumble. But then I thought to myself, “That means they’ve maybe got something big planned, and that can only mean one thing: Ronda Rousey.”

The rumors had been running wild for weeks that Rousey had signed with WWE. She’d done some training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando and had been spotted having dinner with Triple H, so there was something there. But we hadn’t gotten any confirmation so I just listened to the rumors along with everyone else. She’ll be at the Royal Rumble for sure. She won’t be at the Royal Rumble because she’ll be filming a movie in Colombia at that time. It was hard to know what to believe. Ronda herself tried to throw everyone off just two days before the Royal Rumble by posting a picture of herself “back on set” in Colombia on Instagram, which she truly might have been. But that didn’t stop the chatter of her possibly appearing in Philadelphia on Sunday night.

So the Royal Rumble pay-per-view rolled on, and we got another tag match and then the WWE Universal Championship Match. Finally, the moment arrived and the inaugural Women’s Royal Rumble was good to go. They had Maria Menounos doing the ring announcing, Stephanie McMahon joined the announce team and the two women’s champions, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair, sitting at ringside with their belts and all was right with the world. Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, both of whom were an integral part of why this match was happening, were the first two entrants, and we were off and running.

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For the next hour, I was enthralled. With a great mix of storytelling and surprise entrants and good booking and fun moments, the Women’s Rumble was very entertaining. Pretty much all of the current crop of female superstars got a chance at some point in the match to shine, and the returns just made things that much better. We had the likes Lita, Torrie Wilson, Molly Holly, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Jacqueline and The Bella Twins in there mixing it up with Banks, Lynch, Sonya Deville, Ruby Riott, Natalya, Asuka and Mickie James. Just watching all of these past, present and future stars together was awesome.

So as we got to those last five spots, I figured that if Ronda Rousey was being put into this match, it would have to be somewhere in there. But it was Mickie at No. 26 and The Bellas at 27 and 28. We hadn’t seen Bayley yet and she was out at No. 29, which left that big No. 30 spot wide open. The “RONDA ROUSEY!!!” chants ran wild through the Wells Fargo Center as the clock ticked down. But much to my delight as I never wanted her anywhere near this match, it wasn’t Rousey. Instead, it was seven-time WWE Women’s Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. She definitely deserved that spot, and I was happy to see that the Philly crowd didn’t boo her out of the building.

So Trish came in looking fantastic and we got some great action at the end, even if The Bella Twins may have gotten a little too much attention. With that being said, however, I was happy overall with how things played out with the legends and the current superstars. The past stars brought great energy to the match, and if we’re not including Vickie Guerrero, who was thrown out by everyone in the ring at the time, all but one were eliminated by a current star with the exception being Molly Holly, who was thrown out by Michelle McCool. Sure, the legends got some eliminations in, but it never took the attention away from the current stars, pretty much all of whom got time to show what they can do.

We got to the finish with Sasha Banks, Nikki Bella, Brie Bella and Asuka. Sasha’s marathon run ended at over 54 minutes, but Asuka was able to overcome The Bella Twins to claim her spot in history as the first-ever winner of the Women’s Royal Rumble. Looking ecstatic, she was joined in the ring by Charlotte and Alexa, both holding their titles with The Empress of Tomorrow needing to make a choice on who to face at WrestleMania 34. That image was fantastic. The two titles and those three phenomenal athletes standing tall on a historic night should have been enough.

But then it happened.

Unfamiliar music hit and there was Ronda Rousey. The crowd went insane for her as she stood on the ramp, but I just could not join in on their enthusiasm, and after jumping on Twitter a little later, I know I wasn’t the only one that felt that way. As I said earlier, I didn’t want Ronda Rousey anywhere near this match. The night didn’t need it and I just didn’t want to see it. Allow me to explain.

I want to start by saying that I have absolutely zero problem with Rousey joining WWE. Zero. I think she’s a phenomenal athlete and champion and I am extremely pleased to see her in a good place. I’m fully aware of the traumatic stress that overwhelmed her after suffering those two brutal defeats in UFC and I love that she’s happy and healthy and moving forward with her life. She brings with her an amazing pedigree and will no doubt succeed in her WWE career. I think she’s going to be one of the biggest draws in the business, especially in the beginning, and is going to do nothing but take an already successful women’s division to the next level. However, I feel just as strongly that the Royal Rumble was the wrong place for her to debut.

Look at what had just been accomplished. The women of WWE were the main event of one of the “Big Four” pay-per-view events that WWE puts on each and every year. That’s HUGE. Furthermore, they had done so in entertaining fashion with a great Rumble match that exceeded my expectations. Thirty women representing so many eras put it all on the line under extreme pressure and came out looking amazing. As I said, Asuka standing there with the two current champions as the show went off the air would have been more than enough. But in my humble opinion, it all got ruined the moment Rousey came out. With the build, the match, the outcome and everything else that had gone into this night to make it what it was, it was gone in an instant. How many headlines did you see about Asuka outlasting 29 other women to win and how many headlines did you see about Ronda Rousey joining WWE?

Okay, okay, some of you are probably starting to yell at your screen right about now. Yes, I’m aware that it’s Ronda Rousey and that she’s a huge deal. It should get plenty of coverage. But not at the expense of everyone else. Asuka had about two minutes to enjoy making history before Ronda came out and had the spotlight. As good as Sunday night’s booking was in so many ways, this was a mistake. While we’re here, let’s go ahead and get into the details of her arrival. First of all, the music needs to be changed and changed quickly. Secondly, does she have to be a Rowdy Roddy Piper ripoff? Sure, she’s got the “Rowdy” moniker going already, and that’s fine. Her wearing one of Piper’s old jackets to the ring was okay as well but her merchandise has got the colors and the font and all of it and it’s completely unnecessary. Ronda Rousey isn’t going to need that gimmick to get over.

It can’t be just me that thinks the entire segment was awkward, right? So this is Ronda Rousey, formerly the baddest woman on the planet, coming in to make a statement and she’s grinning from ear to ear for most of it? That’s really not her thing. I used to love watching her UFC fight entrances. She was all business all the time and just looking at her was enough to scare a lot of her opponents. If she’s coming in, that’s what she needs to be. She tried it a little bit once she got into the ring and started pointing at the WrestleMania sign, but the moment was gone by then.

Since we’re on the WrestleMania sign, let’s go ahead and deal with that as well. The “dream match” is supposed to be Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair, right? Does that mean Asuka doesn’t even have a choice on who to face anymore? Are we supposed to just pencil in Asuka vs. Alexa at WrestleMania 34 and be okay with it when Asuka vs. Charlotte is more of a dream match to me than Ronda vs. Charlotte? I’m not taking away from Alexa Bliss as I think she’s an amazing champion, but I think the majority of people would go the Asuka-Charlotte route this year. Also, where does that leave the other current superstars who just took part in the historic, first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match for the right to go to WrestleMania to face the champion of their choosing? Are we supposed to just forget what they just fought for because Rousey showed up and pointed to the sign?

Rumors are running wild that WWE is trying desperately to get The Rock involved at WrestleMania 34 to team with Rousey to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a mixed tag, which would be just fine with me. I know Dwayne is a busy guy with a lot on his plate, but assuming he can show up, why would you put Ronda Rousey in the ring with the two champions and the Royal Rumble winner if you have no intention of putting her in a title match? The whole thing just makes no sense, and hearing that news earlier today only made things worse for me.

I know a lot of you out there right now are disagreeing with me and you certainly have every right to your opinion. I just feel that there were better ways to handle this situation and I wanted to give my take. We’re called FanSided for a reason. We’re fans of the thing we cover, and as a wrestling fan for more than three decades, I wanted to use this forum I have to get this out there. Sorry, 280 characters just wasn’t going to get it done for me.

It also might sound like I’m putting all of this on Ronda Rousey herself, but that’s simply not the case. It was a poor booking decision that took the spotlight off of the things it needed to be on. I honestly do believe that Rousey in WWE is a great thing. Sunday night just wasn’t the night for it.

Next: Full review of the 2018 WWE Royal Rumble

What’s your take on the Ronda Rousey appearance at the Royal Rumble? Feel free to join in the conversation in the comments section below.

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