Shayna Baszler Reveals Original Plan for WWE Match Against Ronda Rousey

At WWE SummerSlam 2023, Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler faced off in what would become Rousey's final WWE match. Contested as an "MMA Rules" match, it left a lot to be desired in terms of what that would entail. In the end, fans in attendance and at home didn't take to the match that well, with fans in attendance booing the two women. Baszler would walk out of the match the winner after previously turning on Rousey.

Baszler is opening up about the match, revealing in a new interview that the original plan was supposed to have "some sort of cross promotion." Both women came from the world of MMA with ties to the UFC and beyond.

"It's interesting because the timing of all that happening was a little bit just off enough that we were trying to work on some sort of cross promotion with that match," Baszler said in an interview with Fightful. "It's just, the timing was off and everything else going into that. I always proclaimed, even while I was fighting, that all of this is pro wrestling. People don't understand a lot of times what that means. I'm not claiming that one is more real than the other. What I'm saying is that this is all entertainment and at the roots of pro wrestling is MMA. It's cool because my whole thing, if you follow my YouTube and interviews, is to wave this banner of the history of pro wrestling and how MMA and pro wrestling come from this shared place. This whole thing makes it a lot easier for me to spread the history and glory of pro wrestling of old. The opportunities are out there, I'm here, let's do it."

Baszler will get said opportunity when she faces off against TNA's Masha Slamovich at GCW Bloodsport during WrestleMania weekend. The event, which is part of Game Changer Wrestling's huge Collective weekend, is a yearly event put on by Josh Barnett, a man Baszler knows well because he trained her. Set up in a ring with no ropes, in order for someone to win, they must win via knockout or submission. The event is currently sold out but it will be available to stream on Triller TV. 

Rousey, meanwheile, has taken a step back from professional wrestling, but she has had a few matches since her departure from WWE. In October she popped up in Lucha VaVoom to team with Marina Shafir and that partnership would span across Wrestling REVOLVER and Ring of Honor.

H/T: Fightful