WWE News: Ronda Rousey interview on ESPN becomes weird
What's the story?
WWE newcomer Ronda Rousey became seemingly annoyed during an interview on ESPN's Golic and Wingo show.
Rousey's time in the UFC as a MMA fighter was the topic which caused the awkwardness between the co-presenter Mike Golic and herself.
Keep reading to find out the full story below.
In case you didn't know...
Rousey recently joined the WWE after a really successful time in the UFC.
In January, Rousey made her WWE debut at the Royal Rumble PPV in an unannounced appearance, confronting Asuka, Alex Bliss and Charlotte Flair.
Previously, Rousey was a megastar in the UFC and is basically the reason why they created a Female Division for the Octagon.
Rousey won 12 out of 14 fights, and was the first-ever Bantamweight Champion, lasting with the belt for over 1,000 days before losing it to Holly Holms at UFC 193.
She was devastated after losing her Championship, and then when she lost her attempt to get it back against Amanda Nunes in just 48 seconds.
Rousey has not fought since.
The heart of the matter
This ESPN appearance immediately started off on the wrong foot.
Mike Golic asked her when did she realise that her time in the UFC was 'done', and when did she know she was 'not gonna fight anymore'.
However, the WWE newcomer did not take to this question very kindly, and pointed out that she 'never said' those things about her MMA career.
The co-host tried to clarify and queried whether or not Rousey meant that she could possibly 'go back in time' to fighting.
But Rousey, who was already frustrated with Golic, decided to take him literally, and retorted back:
'There's a possiblity I can go back in time, is that your question to me?'
The presenter once again tried to put his question a different way, but it became clear that Rousey just did not want to talk about UFC, which is why she focused on the exact wording.
'I do not have the ability to go back in time.'
Third time of asking, Rousey responded that she 'didn't know' if she'd fight again.
The rest of the interview went fine after that, but it is pretty clear that Rousey wants to foget about the Octagon.
You can watch a video of the full appearance below.
What's next?
As Rousey talks about in the interview, she is set to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon with Kurt Angle in a huge mixed-tag-team match at WrestleMania 34 on April 8th in New Orleans.
This will be Rousey's first WWE bout.
As for the UFC, it doesn't look like she wants to go back there anytime soon, which is good news for WWE.
Author's take
There are different sides to this story, but I am going to agree with Rousey in this situation.
Everyone knows that she wants a fresh start by coming to WWE, after frustrations with how her UFC career ended with two losses.
Hence, there was no reason for this host to bring up the UFC when he knew it would only agitate Rousey.
The interview was about Rousey and the WWE, so the UFC should not have come up in the discussion.
However, Rousey needs to be able to handle these situations better, because UFC made her the star that she is whether she likes it or not. Therefore it will always be brought up.
Rousey should be proud of what she did there, rather than think negatively of just two bad fights.