Ronda Rousey Agrees to WWE Contract, Makes Debut After Women's Royal Rumble
Former UFC superstar Ronda Rousey made her official WWE debut on Sunday.
After Asuka defeated 29 other women to win the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match, Rousey's music played, and she confronted Asuka and pointed to the WrestleMania 34 sign.
Simultaneously, ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne confirmed Rousey and WWE agreed to terms on a contract.
"This is my life now," Rousey said. "First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt. When I first met with Triple H, I told him, 'There are other things I can do with my time that'll make way more money, but I won't enjoy nearly as much.'"
Possibly lost in the wild scene was that Rousey was wearing Rowdy Roddy Piper's jacket after it was given to her by his son, as Shelburne reported.
Martin Rogers of USA Today reported on Dec. 6 Rousey was finalizing details to sign with WWE.
Rousey is a longtime wrestling fan who has had involvement with WWE in the past, most notably when she made a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 31.
The Rock pulled Rousey out of the crowd, and they went on to beat down Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in one of the event's most unexpected and entertaining moments.
That started speculation about Rousey possibly having a WWE role in the future, and it intensified when her UFC career began to go south.
After starting 12-0 as a professional MMA fighter, Rousey shockingly lost to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in 2015, dropping the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship in the process.
Rousey was then defeated by Amanda Nunes in less than a minute the following year, which put her UFC future in doubt.
"Rowdy" resurfaced on the WWE radar when her friend and fellow Four Horsewomen member, Shayna Baszler, entered the Mae Young Classic.
Rousey attended all of Baszler's matches in the tournament, and there was even a partial Four Horsewomen interaction with Rousey, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir staring down Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch and Bayley:
Baszler advanced to the finals where she faced Kairi Sane, and there was plenty of talk about Rousey and Co. potentially getting involved.
While Rousey was there, she was merely a spectator, as Baszler was defeated by Sane in spectacular fashion.
Rousey was asked about her interest in possibly joining WWE prior to the final, but she offered no definitive answers:
Despite Rousey losing her unblemished record in the UFC, she is still a massive crossover star, and bringing her in is a major coup for WWE.
Much like Brock Lesnar, Rousey will generate interest in the WWE product even beyond the sports entertainment world, and that makes her worth whatever it took for WWE to sign her.
Rousey has never competed in a professional wrestling match, but she is an elite athlete and remains in her physical prime at just 30 years of age.
Regardless of how WWE chooses to utilize her, she promises to be a major box office draw, and her mere presence will generate a ton of mainstream buzz for the company.
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