Current WWE star claims Ronda Rousey's contributions to wrestling is often diminished
Ronda Rousey receives a ton of hate from WWE fans. While her rookie year was regarded as one of the best for any newcomer into the wrestling business, her second stint with the company between Royal Rumble 2022 and SummerSlam 2023 is deemed a failure by many.
Shayna Baszler - who competed with Rousey in the latter's final match this summer - recently did an interview for WrestleZone in which she defended the ex-UFC mauler.
According to Baszler, who herself is a veteran of mixed martial arts, Rousey's contributions are enormous, be it in the wrestling world or combat sports. Despite this, because people simply do not like her personality, The Baddest Woman on the Planet does not get the credit she deserves:
“I think Ronda Rousey is, I think she’s under-appreciated. I think people like to hate her for whatever reason, and it’s been that way in MMA — it’s because she doesn’t mince her words. People like to, because they don’t like her personally, they like to try to erase what she’s done for women’s sports, women’s combat sports, the UFC & WWE," Baszler stated.
The ex-UFC star continued:
"They like to minimize that just because they don’t like her personally and I think that’s a shame. I might not be on the best terms [with her], but I will never deny that she did a lot for women’s combat sports. I think she’s under appreciated in some sense.” [H/T: Fightful]
Ronda Rousey was a huge box office name prior to joining the wrestling business. Between 2012 and 2016, The Baddest Woman on the Planet had a remarkable undefeated run in UFC.
Ronda Rousey is no longer a member of the WWE roster
In October, Ronda Rousey made a shocking appearance at a Lucha VaVoom event in Los Angeles. She teamed with former WWE Superstar Marina Shafir to defeat Taya Valkyrie and Brian Kendrick in a tag team match.
Rousey and Shafir will once again team up on November 16 at Wrestling Revolver's Unreal show to take on ROH Women's Champion Athena and Billie Starkz.
Ronda Rousey often called out the WWE creative for the lack of proper storylines for the women's division. She also went out on her back by giving Baszler a submission win at SummerSlam. This marked her first submission loss in the Stamford-based promotion.
Do you think Ronda Rousey will ever return to WWE? Sound off in the comments section below!