WWE went all in on Ronda Rousey. The combat sports trailblazer was first brought into the fold at WWE WrestleMania 31, uniting with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to confront Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. That seed would not sprout for another three years, as Rousey would not officially sign with WWE until January 2018. After besting Triple H and Stephanie at WWE WrestleMania 34, Rousey set her sights on championship gold in WWE, capturing the Raw Women’s Title just a couple of months later. From there, Rousey was always in and around the title scene until her eventual departure in August 2023.
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While Rousey has taken extended time away from WWE before, this latest exit seems to be permanent. Rousey has been outspoken about her frustrations with WWE’s backstage environment, specifically putting former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon on blast for the “casting couch culture” he created within the company.
Speaking to Never Before Told, Rousey neglected to name specific behind-the-scenes situations that went down while she was in WWE but described the overall atmosphere as “an absolute s–t show.”
“Behind the scenes? How much of an absolute shit show it is at the WWE because they can’t hold the story over my head and hold me hostage with my own career,” Rousey said.
Rousey wrapped up her WWE commitments this past summer, losing to longtime friend Shayna Baszler at WWE SummerSlam. This departure was seen as a bit abrupt, as Rousey and Baszler had just won the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships a couple of weeks prior and were expected to embark on a lengthy title run to revitalize the often-criticized titles.
“I don’t need anything from them and I don’t intend on going back,” Rousey continued. “I can say everything that I think and feel while everybody else is still held captive by their organization.”
Rousey has since wrestled one-off matches here and there, competing at independent events and also working a Ring of Honor television taping.
“She’s not signed but we had a great conversation,” ROH owner Tony Khan said of Rousey’s cameo. “Ronda was happy to come here and she was great and the crowd was really excited to see her. We’d love to have her back sometime.”
