Former SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey made a surprise appearance on Monday Night RAW, but only for those in attendance. The capacity crowd at Madison Square Garden witnessed Rousey confront Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. after the duo provoked the women’s locker room to make them leave the ring. “I’m sick of the disrespect,” Doudrop said. “And I am not leaving this ring unless someone makes me.” Rousey would then make her entrance and put Doudrop in an ankle lock, leading RAW announcer Corey Graves to ask why she’s here. While the brand split is not as strictly enforced as it used to be these days, Rousey herself is a member of the SmackDown roster.
Videos by ComicBook.com
This segment came after Doudrop was defeated by Alexa Bliss in singles competition. Television viewers saw a commercial break following that match, and then a backstage segment with AJ Styles and Logan Paul immediately following advertisements.ย
Rousey’s RAW segment is actually quite familiar, as The Rowdy One essentially had the same non-televised segment last week. During a commercial break on Friday Night SmackDown, Rousey confronted Sonya Deville after Deville demanded someone from upper management “gives [her] the respect [she] deserves.” There, Rousey would lock Deville in an armbar until she tapped, then celebrated with the fans before heading to the back before the broadcast resumed.
Rousey made her return to WWE this past January as a surprise entrant in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. The Baddest Woman on the Planet would go on to win that match and unsuccessfully challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Title at WWE WrestleMania 38, but would eventually capture the championship the following month at WWE WrestleMania Backlash. She held the title for two months, and would ultimately lose it to Liv Morgan at WWE Money in the Bank, as Morgan cashed in her newly-won Money in the Bank contract on Rousey immediately after Rousey defended her title against Natalya.
Morgan and Rousey are now on a collision course for WWE SummerSlam, where Morgan will make her first defense of her SmackDown Women’s Championship.
“SummerSlam is my chance to show I belong as champ,” Morgan said. “I’m the champion because I’m the best woman for the job. Going against Ronda, this is the fight of my life. I’m up for the challenge, and I’m looking forward to it more than anything.”
WWE SummerSlam goes down this Saturday, July 30th.
