Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star Ronda Rousey is leaving the octagon for a career in wrestling. Rousey signed a contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and made her debut after Asuka's big Royal Rumble win.
The first ever Women's Royal Rumble is in the books with Asuka making history for winning the massive match. Asuka's fellow Asian wrestler Shinsuke Nakamura won the Men's Royal Rumble. Rousey took the spotlight with her big debut and went up on stage to shake Asuka's hands. Asuka started extending her hand but then swatted Rousey. The latter then pointed at the big WrestleMania logo in the dome, after which she approached executive Stephanie McMahon to shake her hand. McMahon gladly extended her arm and shared a smile with Rousey.
In an interview with ESPN, Rousey said she is overwhelmed to be part of the WWE. "I've never been less articulate in my life, pretty much. I'm so happy I don't have words for it and I usually have words for everything. This never happened before," she said.
The former UFC women's bantamweight champion posted an Instagram picture of her on the ring with the caption, "My road to #wrestlemania begins now."
Many fans and fellow wrestlers are happy with Rousey's entrance, including WWE's Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative Paul "Triple H" Levesque. Triple H told For the Win that he is excited for Rousey's career in wresting, especially with the WWE going through "Women's Evolution." He also said, "I think that it's a huge set of eyeballs, but the thing that I'm most excited about is just the talent. She's so into that her passion boils over when you talk to her about it, and she's going to knock this out of the park."
However, not everyone is happy with Rousey's big debut. Multi-time Pro Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion and radio commentator Taz said Rousey stole Asuka's big night. On his radio program, he said, "It kind of takes the spotlight away from Asuka's victory. But what did she win?"
Rousey has not responded to Taz's comments about her.
