Ronda Rousey’s rowdiest moments in her WWE rookie year
1. Headlining WrestleMania
On April 7, 2019 history was made when Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch became the first women to headline WrestleMania. Only a year earlier, Rousey’s debut match took place on the Grandest Stage of Them All when she tagged with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Now she, along with Lynch and Flair, were tasked with delivering a match worthy of being the main event.
Up to that point, Rousey’s career in WWE had been nothing short of stellar. Detractors will try to say that she “botched” matches and couldn’t deliver a promo, but all the talk can’t undermine Rousey’s accomplishments in her rookie year. She made people take notice in the business and in mainstream media. Together with Lynch and Flair they set out to make the ‘Mania main event warranted to have that slot, and not just because it felt like the right thing to do.
The entanglement with Lynch on social media fueled the fires of the match and made people even more invested in the outcome. Rousey even went so far as to insult the business by calling attention to the predetermined nature of pro wrestling. It was a brilliant piece of business that made fans and talent alike roar in disapproval. Rousey played her heel persona to a tee while sprinkling in a dose of reality. During the highly anticipated match, Rousey would continue to infuriate the crowd by denying them a table spot citing “tables are for b—-es.”
Rousey came into the match with a swollen and cut leg due to kicking out the glass window of the police cruiser just a week prior. It was further exacerbated as Flair dished out punishment on the same leg as she set-up for her trademark finisher, the Figure 8 leg-lock. Early in the match, Rousey took a hard bump into the apron of the ring and crashed down on the thin blue padded mats covering the concrete floor. At some point she would also break her hand, a fracture said to be serious and which would require surgery to repair. Rousey’s broken her hands before, she’s had surgery before, and she took punishment before but always came back from it. April 7 would be no different.
Despite the injuries, Rousey battled through the pain to finish the match. She lost via pinfall, her first loss in WWE, and would drop her WWE Raw Women’s Championship to Lynch. The end spurned controversy as Rousey’s shoulder seemed to be up off the mat. At the count of three Rousey could be seen arguing with the ref as well. But business was done, and for the time being so is Rousey.
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One year seems to make for a very short career but when you’ve had the year Rousey had it could be all she needed. Whether we see her back in the ring remains to be seen. For now, her only goal is to start a family with husband and MMA fighter Travis Browne. But given her rookie-year success, there’s no question the WWE will welcome Rousey back whenever she is ready.