What if Ronda Rousey returns at WWE SummerSlam 2019?
WWE had Wendi Richter front and center as an extremely popular star for a brief period in the 1980s and featured Alundra Blayze for a period of years atop its women’s division. The company has pushed Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair, and to a lesser extent, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Alexa Bliss, and Asuka in high profile roles. But the company has never had a female star who could quite match the mainstream magnetism of Ronda Rousey.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet was already a celebrity based on her MMA career before signing with WWE—a status that instantly made her the most famous woman in WWE and the most instantly credible female fighter the company has ever had. She went on to have a remarkable year in the ring, exceeding expectations for a first-year performer’s skills and, in kayfabe, going undefeated, including holding the Raw Women’s Championship for the better part of a year.
Rousey hasn’t been seen or heard from on the WWE landscape since dropping her first fall to Becky Lynch in the main event of WrestleMania 35. She publicly stated in a number of interviews that the WWE schedule was more grueling than she anticipated, and Rousey has also indicated she wants to have children. But what if, after a few months away, she were to make a return—however momentary—to WWE, starting at SummerSlam? This article takes a look at what that could mean.
#5 Costing Becky Lynch her title
Becky Lynch did a wonderful job of getting over with the opportunities afforded to her in the second half of 2018 and has carried that momentum into succeeding as one of WWE’s top stars in 2019. One of the awkward dynamics that comes with her working at the very top of the women’s division, however, is that it’s difficult for WWE to book a credible challenger opposite her. Lacey Evans worked reasonably well on account of her being an unknown commodity who didn’t bring the baggage of past losses with her into her program with The Man. The transition to a program between Lynch and Natalya has exposed WWE’s issues, though, for how hard it is to buy Natalya taking the title off of her.
The addition of Ronda Rousey into the SummerSlam proceedings, however, could offer a justifiable reason for Lynch to drop the title and reset the title picture on Raw. Be it via physical involvement, or offering a distraction, Rousey would be a natural fit to get involved in this match given her history as not only a rival to Lynch but also her well-established friendship with The Queen of Harts.