WWE SmackDown kicked off with an appearance by Ronda Rousey, who looked taken aback by the chants and cheers from the crowd as she made he way to the ring. Michael Cole joined her and asked why she decided to come back for the Royal Rumble. Rousey said that after her match last time she hurt her hand, and then after she recovered she hurt her other hand, and then she learned she was pregnant with her daughter. She said she outlined when she would come back, and she was inspired by her mother, who was setting an example in Judo and in school all while being a single parent, and she wanted to show that level of badassery to her daughter.
Cole went through her credentials, including being the first woman put into the UFC Hall of Fame, and then asked how it felt to finally win the Royal Rumble. Rousey said it was great but she’s focused on the future, and she wants to be the first person in a while to make Charlotte Flair tap.
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Cole then went over her match at Elimination Chamber, which had her competing with one hand tied behind her back. While she fared well against Sonya Deville, Flair did some damage to her arm in the match, and they played a clip.
When they came back Rousey was pretty upset, and then Flair made her entrance. Flair then said she gave Rousey a little taste of a welcome back at the pay-per-view and it was really fun. She felt sorry for her because of the hand tied behind her back, and it won’t be like that WrestleMania.
She then said she is going to put her in Figure-8 and for the first time in her career she is going to beg for mercy and tap her out. “And Ronda, the silver lining is you get to go work on Baby No. 2!”
Then Sonya Deville came in and attacked Rousey with a chop block, and Flair jumped in and stacked her too, slamming Rousey’s leg against and around the post. Deville taunted Rousey but Rousey then kicked her and flipped her over and sent her running.
That said, the damage was done, and Rousey was clearly limping and favoring one leg. That was the same leg that Rousey’s had numerous surgeries on, so this will likely be a focal point for Flair’s attacks as we make our way to WrestleMania 38.
After the segment, Adam Pearce scolded Deville for getting involved and then revealed that management had decided to put Deville against Rousey one on one next week.
What have you thought of SmackDown so far? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!
