Former WWE Star Praises Ronda Rousey, Is Proud To Have Wrestled Her In Title Match

Across two runs with WWE, Ronda Rousey broke down barriers and served as one of many who helped elevate the women's division in the company. Asked about Rousey during an interview with TMZ, former WWE star Shotzi Blackheart stated that she enjoyed her time in the ring with the UFC star.

"She was always so cool," Blackheart said of Rousey. "She would invite me to her house to come train with her and she was always down to take the most brutal bumps. Especially [during] our pay-per-view match, she was taking some crazy bumps for me."

Rousey and Blackheart wrestled a title match at WWE Survivor Series 2022, and the two would later lock up in a tag bout at the following year's WWE WrestleMania 39. Blackheart recalled Rousey searching through Blackheart's previous matches for the craziest moves she could find and asking Blackheart to incorporate them into their match. According to Blackheart, Rousey doesn't get enough credit for her work ethic or attention to detail, as she will go above and beyond to make something look good when it's something that she's passionate about.

"I'm a big Ronda fan," Blackheart continued. "I will forever be so proud to say, 'Hey, I wrestled Ronda Rousey in a pay-per-view for the f**king championship.' You can't take that away from me."

When asked if Rousey hit harder than other opponents because of her MMA background, Blackheart denied that to be the case. There was one exception to that, as Blackheart said that Rousey's judo throws hurt because they were real.

Overall, Blackheart indicated that working with the rest of the women's locker room was her favorite aspect of being in WWE. After being released by the company in May, Blackheart has made her return to the independent scene with appearances in MLW, GCW, and more.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit TMZ and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.