The 10 Most Memorable Moments Of Ronda Rousey's WWE Career
The self-proclaimed "Baddest Woman on the Planet," Ronda Rousey, has made a name for herself in the world of combat sports. She has fought her way through the UFC roster, winning championships, before jumping ship to WWE and finding herself with more to add to her resume. Rousey was the first ever female UFC Champion, along with winning the Bantamweight Championship earlier in her career. Rousey has also made history in a short amount of time in WWE, capturing championship gold and being featured in the first ever WrestleMania main event featuring all women.
Ronda Rousey made her debut at the 2018 Royal Rumble and hit the ground running. In only a few years time, she has held an undefeated streak, won the "Raw" Women's Championship, and has continued to find herself in major storylines in WWE. The UFC legend came into unknown territory by entering professional wrestling in 2018, but learned quickly how to connect with the audience. Rousey didn't climb the ranks of WWE by accident, she has a slew of memorable moments to back-up her championship stardom in WWE.
Appearing with The Rock at WrestleMania 31
Ronda Rousey made sporadic appearances in WWE before officially joining as an on-screen character in 2018. One of the biggest appearances she made before signing a WWE contract was at WrestleMania 31 alongside The Rock. The segment had Rock getting into a verbal showdown with The Authority, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. At one point Stephanie had heard enough and slapped Rock across the face. This prompted "The Great One" to request that Rousey join him in the ring, as she had been sitting ringside for the event. Rousey entered the ring with her signature mean mug look and was ready to throw down.
Rock could not retaliate against Stephanie, but Rousey could. She threw Triple H over her shoulder with an Armbar Takedown before putting Stephanie in an Armbar Submission. The Authority cowered to the back and WWE fans had just gotten a taste of what Rousey could do inside a WWE ring. This set the stage for a potential WWE in-ring career for Rousey in the near future. To add to the hype of this segment, Rousey took to Twitter saying, "We're just gettin' started..."
Debuting at the end of the 2018 Royal Rumble
About three years after a massive WrestleMania moment with The Rock and a tweet to tease the possibility of a WWE career, Ronda Rousey officially debuted as a WWE superstar. WWE held its first ever all-womens' Royal Rumble Match at the pay-per-view event in 2018. Asuka eliminated Nikki Bella in the main event to become the first ever female winner of the Royal Rumble, in what looked like the end of another historic event. However, a familiar tune hit the arena in the form of "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett.
After the music hit, Rousey came out to a massive pop by the crowd wearing a jacket that was once sported by her wrestling idol, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. She stormed down to the ring and pointed at the WrestleMania sign as "Raw" Women's Champion Alexa Bliss, "SmackDown" Women's Champion Charlotte Flair, and the 2018 Royal Rumble winner Asuka stood in the ring. Rousey was making it very clear as to why she had jumped from UFC to WWE, she was there to win more gold.
Making a show stealing in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34
If WrestleMania 31 showed us anything, it was that Ronda Rousey was destined for WWE and would eventually cross paths with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon once again. After debuting in January 2018, Rousey was featured in segments on weekly WWE television, but did not have her in-ring debut until WrestleMania 34. Any time someone from outside the professional wrestling world gets in the ring, there is always speculation on how they will perform. Rousey shut every speculator down when she entered the ring with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie in a tag team match.
Rousey quickly showed that she had the showmanship, the strength, and the finesse that makes a professional wrestler great by throwing around both Triple H and Stephanie with ease. After a lengthy match for a "newcomer," Rousey finally got a hold of Stephanie's arm and torqued it back as hard as she could. Stephanie tapped out immediately and the former UFC fighter had just won her first match in WWE with what she knew best, a submission. The match impressed many and some may say it even stole the show that year. Jim Ross was one of those people when he told TMZ Sports, "I thought Ronda Rousey's debut was the most impressive thing I've seen in pro wrestling in my 40-year career ... best debut I ever saw."
Winning the Raw Women's Championship at SummerSlam 2018
It didn't take long after Ronda Rousey's in-ring debut before she found herself one tap out away from WWE championship gold. At the SummerSlam 2018 pay-per-view event, Rousey had a chance to capture the "Raw" Women's Championship from Alexa Bliss. She also had a chance to show that she could perform in the ring without the help of a tag team partner. The match started with Bliss doing everything in her power to avoid the strikes and submissions of the former UFC Champion.
However, Bliss could only run for so long. Once Rousey got her hands on the champion, it was a very one-sided match between the two with Rousey showing the dominance she was bringing to the women's division. Eventually, just like Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania, Rousey found the arm of Bliss. She took hold of the arm and torqued it back into a vicious Armbar, making the "Raw" Women's Champion tap out in seconds. Rousey won her first championship in WWE in less than a year after her debut. Her victory over Bliss in under 10 minutes showed everyone that her run of dominance was just beginning.
Defeating Nikki Bella at WWE Evolution 2018
If someone were to create the complete opposite character of Ronda Rousey in WWE, it would be Nikki Bella. Nikki Bella, alongside her sister Brie Bella, were the personification of the Divas division. At this point in time, WWE was in full swing of elevating their women's division and the kickass style of Rousey was the perfect fit. Once again a Rousey match was under scrutiny for two reasons. Critics felt that Rousey was a "rookie" and Nikki did not symbolize "women's wrestling," stealing the spots of women more deserving. However, these two brought media attention to WWE so they faced off in the main event of WWE Evolution for the "Raw" Women's Championship.
Once again, Rousey silenced the critics with the help of Nikki Bella. The two brought the best out of each other and the "Raw" Women's Champion was able to show once again that she could go in the ring without a tag partner. Rousey showed her strength by lifting both Bella Twins on her shoulders and showcasing her UFC fighting style with a ground and pound offense. At the end of the match, Rousey found Nikki's right arm and locked it in a tight Armbar for the submission. This marked a major title defense for the "Raw" Women's Champion and once again showed that Rousey was here to help elevate the women's division.
Successfully defending her Raw Women's Championship at Royal Rumble 2019
Throughout 2018, Ronda Rousey remained undefeated with her 'Raw" Women's Championship. At the start of the new year, Rousey had her first viable opponent for her championship in Sasha Banks. Banks had been on the forefront of helping build the "evolved" women's division and now she was about to face the woman that steamrolled that very division in 2018. At Royal Rumble 2019, Banks attempted to stop Rousey's undefeated streak and take her "Raw" Women's Championship in the process. Banks was part of the "Four Horsewomen" of WWE and Rousey was a part of her own "Four Horsewomen" in UFC.
Their Royal Rumble match was truly a clash of the best in both combat sports. Banks put up a fight against Rousey and delivered more offense than her opponents in the past. However, the might of the "Raw" Women's Champion became too much. Rousey hoisted Banks up on her shoulders and hit her with the Piper's Pit, her version of the Samoan Drop, for the victory. This not only locked in Ronda's first victory of 2019, but also set her in the fast lane on the road to a WrestleMania main event.
Turning heel on Dana Brooke prior to WrestleMania 35
In March 2019, Ronda Rousey, Charlotte Flair, and Becky Lynch were being built up to clash at WrestleMania 35 in a triple threat match for the "Raw" Women's Championship. Lynch was the clear babyface with Flair being the obvious heel of the three. That left Rousey as the "tweener," until the March 18 episode of "WWE Raw." Dana Brooke earned herself a match against the "Raw" Women's Champion by standing up to her the week before. Rousey defeated Brooke quickly by locking in her signature Armbar shortly after the bell rang. However, Rousey did not let up the pressure on the Armbar in an attempt to "break" Dana's arm.
WWE referees and security poured out from the back to try and pry Rousey off Brooke. Rousey finally let go of Brooke's arm, but then clobbered the security all around ringside. Even Rousey's husband, former UFC Heavyweight Champion Travis Browne, attacked the security from his position behind the barricade at ringside. After making short work of every official WWE could throw at them, both Rousey and Travis made their way through the concourse, still shouting at anyone still standing. Rousey had shown aggression before, but this was a newfound, heel aggression from the champion. After this segment, it was clear that Lynch was about to go it alone at WrestleMania 35 against the two top female heels in the company.
The arrest segment on Raw leading to WrestleMania 35
In classic WWE fashion, the three women who were about to have a huge main event match at WrestleMania 35 were forced to team together and "coexist" before their showdown. On the April 1, 2019 episode of "Raw," Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Ronda Rousey faced The Riott Squad in a 6-woman tag team match. The three women coexisted enough to win the match, but right after the bell rang, chaos ensued. Rousey, Lynch, and Flair brawled until law enforcement was called to the ring and the three women were arrested and put in handcuffs. The officers escorted the women into the back, and things got worse for the officers on scene.
Rousey and Lynch were put into the back of a cop car and began using their free limbs, their legs, to kick each other with everything they had. Rousey missed a kick on Lynch and ended up blowing out the side window of the police car. After, Rousey crashed the car into another police cruiser parked backstage. While Rousey was commandeering the cop car, officers were trying to restrain Lynch and Flair who still had unfinished business. The segment was the best kind of chaotic and elevated the hype for this main event match ten-fold. With only six nights until WrestleMania 35, every wrestling fan was ready for these three to finally settle it on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
Being in the main event of Wrestlemania 35
Ronda Rousey remained on her undefeated streak leading into WrestleMania 35. Now, she faced the biggest obstacle of her career so far. She had to defend her "Raw" Women's Championship against The Man and The Queen in a Triple Threat Match. In addition, Charlotte Flair's "SmackDown" Women's Championship was also on the line, in a Winner Take All bout. There was a lot of hype leading into this match due to all the women involved, along with it being the first female main event at WrestleMania 35. The three women did not disappoint, pulling out all the stops in hopes of being a double champion.
The finish of the match came with some controversy. In the final moments, Lynch countered a Piper's Pit into a crucifix roll-up for the pin. Rousey's shoulder was clearly off the mat, but the referee counted to three anyway. Lynch was declared the victor, but this left a flustered and dumbfounded Rousey after the match. There are some who claim the finish was botched, while others argue it could still setup a reason for a rematch one day. Regardless, Lynch became "Becky Two Belts," and Rousey had just suffered the first defeat of her WWE career. This put Rousey's reign of terror as "Raw" Women's Champion to an end, and had everyone asking, what's next for "The Baddest Woman on the Planet?"
Her return at Royal Rumble 2022
WWE fans who questioned what was next for Ronda Rousey following WrestleMania 35 had to wait two years to get their answer. In the main event of WrestleMania 35, Rousey broke her hand, putting her on the shelf for some time. There is no better return for a wrestler in WWE than being a Royal Rumble entrant, and that is the treatment Rousey received. With a group of women battling in the ring at Royal Rumble 2022, they waited for the clock to tick down and reveal entrant number 28. When the clock struck zero, the familiar opening chord of "Bad Reputation" hit, revealing the long awaited return of the "Baddest Woman on the Planet."
One of the many women in the ring who were shocked to hear Rousey's music was none other than Charlotte Flair. Rousey entered the ring with the same aggression she showed as "Raw" Women's Champion, dumping Charlotte over the top to claim the victory. The 2022 Royal Rumble winner did the same point to the WrestleMania sign that she had done four years prior. Becky Lynch had predicted this return from Rousey three months earlier on an episode of "Out of Character" with Ryan Satin saying, "I think the fact that I've had a baby and came back so great, that she'll wanna one up me." Becky was right, and with a Royal Rumble win under her belt, Rousey was WrestleMania bound once again.