'Unprofessional' Ronda Rousey Fined by WWE

Ronda Rousey's war on wrestling just cost her a chunk of her next paycheck.

Since her heel turns two weeks ago, Rousey has been a little temperamental. On Monday, she bashed the entire wrestling industry before pulverizing Dana Brooke. But Rousey's fine comes from her knockout punch to a referee as she left the ring. WWE fined her an undisclosed amount of money for her transgression.

"Ronda Rousey has been fined by WWE as a result of her unprofessional actions last Monday night on Raw. Due to the confidentiality of Rousey's contract, the amount of the fine will not be disclosed. Appropriate action has been taken," wrote WWE.com

This is obviously a storyline suspension, but one that will continue to feed the idea that Rousey and WWE aren't mixing well. With rumors of her leaving after WrestleMania—temporariliy—her anti-wrestling diatribes could be hinting to her "quitting" the company at a later date. All speculation aside, WWE is committed to blurring reality with Rousey's character. Like Brock Lesnar, Rousey has reminded us that if she wanted to, she could maim any Superstar on the roster, but is limited thanks to WWE's "fake" realm of competition.

So far, Rousey's heel turn has worked quite well. There was a chunk of the WWE Universe that needed an excuse to boo her, and now that she's acting more like her old UFC persona they finally have it. Rousey as a babyface was fine, but it was her in-ring explosiveness, not her persona that enamored us. As a villain, we believe everything Rousey is saying and by WrestleMania, the wrestling world will be dying to see her lose.

Rousey putting on the black has significantly altered this WrestleMania feud, too. Originally it looked like Charlotte Flair would lead the way as the story's villain. By replacing Becky Lynch as Vince McMahon's handpicked gladiator, it feels like Flair was on the verge of becoming a corporate Raw Women's Champion. That gimmick worked just fine in the Attitude Era, and given Lynch is already doing a Stone Cold impersonation, WWE can just dust off that old blueprint and we'd gobble it up like it was 1998.

That may still be the plan, but at this moment, Rousey is leading the way in this feud as a hyper-violent anti-wrestling truther. For now, it looks like Rousey vs. Lynch vs. Flair will close out WrestleMania 35, but WWE has yet to make that decision. WWE may consider Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar instead, but the trio of women have fueled the company since SummerSlam.