Ronda Rousey’s rowdiest moments in her WWE rookie year

5. Flair fight

It was supposed to be Becky Lynch vs. Rousey, champion vs. champion, armbar vs. armbar at Survivor Series. But an errant right hand from Nia Jax during a brawl on Monday Night Raw would change all that. Lynch suffered a broken face and a concussion and would be pulled from the match. In a mad scramble to fill the gap just a few days out from the event, WWE officials would have to play the Flair card.

Lynch hand-picked Charlotte Flair to be her successor in the match against Rousey and suddenly this epic match, which many assumed would be at a WrestleMania, was happening at Survivor Series. The two women would tear the house down. With Flair a consummate professional and Rousey something of a prodigy, the two gelled together to tell a great story. The match was aggressive and technical at the same time. Both women put their heart and soul into every move and they were rewarded with the chants of “This is awesome” from the crowd, which brought both modern day gladiators to tears. Their match earned the praise of some of the biggest names in the business such as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin who tweeted “Finally-Professional Wrestling is back.”

At the conclusion of the match Rousey would earn her stripes with everyone in the locker room. There’s a certain right of passage in the business, even for someone like Rousey. So when Flair took to lighting her up with kendo stick strikes she laid into Rousey’s body with everything she had and Rousey took it like a champ. She’d show her bruises like badges of honor later on her YouTube channel.

Unfortunately, Rousey’s hometown crowd did not side with her that night. What was meant to be a sympathy beat down had the bloodthirsty crowd chanting “Thank you Charlotte.” Rousey was visibly upset by the chorus of boos thrown her way and even argued with a fan at ringside. This little seed would be planted in Rousey’s memory to be revisited just a few months later when she’d turn heel.