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Women’s MMA has grown exponentially over the last decade, and there is one woman who was responsible for the success. Ronda Rousey.
Back in 2011, UFC head honcho Dana White stated that women would “never” fight in the UFC. Barely two years later, Ronda Rousey was headlining a UFC pay-per-view against Liz Carmouche in her first-ever fight within the organization. Over the course of the next two and a half years, the Rowdy one would secure her status as the biggest star in the company, and perhaps in all of American sports.
The Rowdy One’s Dominance in the UFC
Rousey may have grown to be the most feared competitor on the whole UFC roster between February 2014 and August 2015. At UFC 170, she took down Sara McMann in just 66 seconds, and at UFC 175 she beat Alexis Davis in just 16 seconds. Seven months after that record-breaking performance, she beat Cat Zingano in under 14 seconds at UFC 184.
Rousey had Bethe Correia next on her hit list after the Brazilian defeated Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler, two of Rousey’s close friends, to earn a shot at the title. But, Rousey made her pay for those triumphs in her own nation by eliminating “The Pitbull” in Rio de Janeiro in just 34 seconds. Unfortunately, however, all good things do come to an end.
In November 2015, Ronda Rousey headed down under to Melbourne Australia to defend her UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship against Holly Holm. On the morning of the fight, there was one clear favorite, and notably, the UFC odds predicted a short night’s work for the champion. However, the challenger stunned the world and with one swift head kick, we had a new champion. Rousey took a year’s hiatus following the defeat. She would return a year later however, she was dispatched inside a minute by Amanda Nunes, and she subsequently left the octagon for good. In 2018, she would make her debut in WWE and has gone from strength to strength ever since.
Rousey’s WrestleMania Plans
Throughout her first spell with the company, Rousey – alongside Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair – would become the first women to headline WrestleMania. After losing her Women’s Championship to Lynch at MetLife Stadium, the 36-year-old would take some time off from professional wrestling.
She would return at last year’s Royal Rumble, winning the 30-woman Royal Rumble match and setting up a title match against the aforementioned Flair at WrestleMania 38, which Rousey would win, However, the last year has been a topsy-turvy one for the former UFC Icon. Fans have somewhat turned on her, which resulted in her dropping her Women’s Championship in under a minute to Flair on the December 30th episode of SmackDown.
Now, her WrestleMania plans are unclear. The event is barely six weeks away, and both women’s title matches are already confirmed. Charlotte Flair will defend her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley, while Bianca Belair will defend her Raw Women’s Title against Asuka.
Where does this leave Rousey? Well, the Rowdy One recently aligned herself with real life friend and former UFC fighter Shayna Baszler. But the duo has barely featured on WWE TV in recent weeks, and it remains to be seen where the pair will feature at WrestleMania 39, which takes place on April 1st and April 2nd from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
How is WrestleMania Shaping Up?
On Saturday 18th February at Elimination Chamber in Montreal, the main event of WrestleMania was confirmed. Sami Zayn challenged Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, in his hometown no less. The winner of the bout would head on to face the winner of the men’s Royal Rumble match Cody Rhodes in WrestleMania’s main event.
Despite a heroic effort, betting underdog Zayn came out on the losing side, much to the dismay of everyone in attendance. Reigns will now head on to California with his 900+ day title reign intact. The 37-year-old hasn’t been pinned in over three years, and the American Nightmare will have his work cut out if he is to dethrone the greatest champion of the modern era on the Grandest Stage of Them All.
Zayn meanwhile looks to be heading into a WWE Undisputed Tag Team Championship match against the reigning champions, Reigns’ cousins, The Usos. He will probably team up with long-time frenemy Kevin Owens, who stopped Zayn from receiving a beatdown at the culmination of his title tilt last weekend. Canadian star Zayn has been the star of WWE programming over the last year however, and it remains to be seen whether fans will accept his demotion into the tag team division rather than the main event scene. One thing that is certain, however, is that WrestleMania, as always, promises to be an epic show. Both nights of the two-night event are already sold out and fans in attendance will no doubt be in for a treat.
