Ronda Rousey could face former friend at WWE WrestleMania 40 - Reports
Ronda Rousey's recent return on WWE RAW has been a big talking point within the wrestling world. Her return was a massive boost for the red brand, and there are reports that she could be facing her current tag team partner Shayna Baszler at WrestleMania 40.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet had not been seen on the Monday night show in over a year. She returned and teamed up with the Queen of Spades to take out Raquel Rodriguez.
This was her first appearance in a WWE ring since the women's WrestleMania Showcase fatal four-way tag team match when she and Shayna Baszler defeated Chelsea Green and Sonya Deville, Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez, and Natalya and Shotzi.
Following her return, Xero News reported that she could be in line to face former NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler at WrestleMania 40.
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler
Becky Lynch vs. Rhea Ripley
Bianca Belair vs. Charlotte Flair
All very much in EARLY discussions for next year's WrestleMania, but nowhere near locked in.
Could Change at anytime.
Friends-turned-enemies is a tried and tested wrestling formula that always gets the fans invested if executed properly.
WWE veteran Dutch Mantell believes SmackDown is missing Ronda Rousey
Prior to the 2023 WWE Draft, the former UFC megastar was a part of the blue brand. She was the SmackDown Women's Champion till December 2022, when she dropped the title to Charlotte Flair. She then formed a tag team with Shayna Baszler.
On a recent edition of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell stated that the former RAW Women's Champion is a big miss for the Friday Night Show. This was before Ronda Rousey's return on RAW:
"I’m gonna go your route. Ehh, it was okay. But I knew they would, you know. Someone just told me that Liv and Rodriguez, they would go over. It was good for what it was, and I see they are working the angle with Bayley, so let’s see how that turns out. But they’re missing Ronda a lot right now. When’s she coming back?" Dutch Mantell said. [1:06:00 to 1:06:41]
Ronda Rousey returned to WWE at Royal Rumble 2022, winning the multi-women's match. However, her second stint with the company was perceived as underwhelming by the fans and it is hard to argue that.
Ronda Rousey's injury could be a blessing in disguise for her and Triple H and the Game would definitely want to rehab her image and bring her aura back as one of the top women in the roster.