Ronda Rousey Has Exceeded Sky-High Expectations as a WWE Superstar Thus Far

Ronda Rousey deserves all the credit in the world. 

Rousey could have entered WWE and leaned into her star power to fulfill her contractual obligations, cashing checks along the way before leaving the company. Like everybody else, she had to know WWE would protect her thanks to her drawing power and call it a day. 

But that is hardly what has occurred. 

From the jump, Rousey has slammed through every expectation boundary placed before her. The first official match, tagging with Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 34 against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H was a resounding success (go ahead, do one Google search on fan reaction). 

WWE quickly letting Rousey become Raw Women's Champion was going to happen regardless—but it's a much more agreeable development with Rousey living up to the hype of her self-proclaimed love for the business. 

Naysayers will have quips about Rousey's best performances being heavily scripted (gasp), and she's admittedly green in matches where she doesn't benefit from prep time. The biggest criticism will come via Brock Lesnar comparisons. 

Those Lesnar comparisons are unfair, of course. 

If WWE ever decides to have Rousey go heel, they will use those silly comparisons to drive a storyline and control reaction to it as they go. But let's stop pretending WWE is performing bad business by putting their biggest women's draw into one of the main attractions of something like the upcoming women's pay-per-view Evolution in October. 

Let's play a game. 

Blame WWE for putting Charlotte, Asuka and Becky Lynch on the same show. Blame them for botching the world out of Asuka's streak and failing to capitalize on Bayley's incredible fan support. Blame them for playing hot potato with the title while rarely using Sasha Banks as anything but a selling machine for others. 

Don't blame WWE for riding Rousey as a huge draw, especially with the work she's clearly putting in and consistent improvement she's showing. 

This isn't CM Punk going to the UFC and getting his face bashed in by names you've never heard of. This is Rousey learning a new craft on the fly and doing it well, provided viewers are willing to understand it's a work in progress. 

WWE using the biggest names to draw in casual crowds isn't anything new. Away from major events like Evolution and WrestleMania, darlings (like a Finn Balor) and longtime workers (like a Jinder Mahal) get rewarded. The Lesnars and Rocks of the world take center stage during casual-crowd season, and the sooner fans accept it, the sooner the product becomes a more enjoyable watching experience. 

And with Rousey, we're already seeing WWE find workarounds for the Lesnar parallels. An injury angle stinks, but Ruby Riott and the Riott Squad kicked the tar out of her and before The Bella Twins interfered. And Nikki Bella eventually turning on Rousey—playing into these exact sentiments mentioned above—writes itself. 

If Rousey and Nikki go head-to-head at Evolution, which makes perfect sense given how well known both are, it's bound to be another superb showing for the former UFC star. And the cycle will continue, as fans will respond strongly before going back to the same old concerns about Rousey. It helps that Nikki is criminally underappreciated in the ring and is a good example of how far a green prospect can come as a performer in a matter of years. 

Regardless, to date, Rousey hasn't shown any signs of confirming the fears about her arrival. She's passionate, improving on the fly and has the type of personality that hints at her being more than willing to put other talents over her. 

While WWE is still building her up right now, Rousey is the sort of performer WWE can break down while building up other performers. She's an ideal springboard so the women's main-event scene has something more than herself, Alexa Bliss and Charlotte—but it's going to take some time to get to that point. 

At times, fans have a hard time appreciating something in the moment and only realizing it when it's too late. Think Batista's latest stint with the company. It got bashed at the time, but most wouldn't mind seeing someone so passionate about the business come back now, right? 

So, appreciate Rousey's passion and improvement. There are going to be some bumps in the road, and no, not everyone is going to get a shot at the main-event scene right now as we head into Evolution and WrestleMania season. 

But it could always be worse. After all, Rousey could be a champion who rarely shows up at all or is a part-timer who will run off to something else as soon as she drops the strap. But she's never been one to back down from what she says—and she's told fans time and again she's here to stay for a long time. 

Actions speak louder, and one look at Rousey's improvements so far says it all. Disagree with the timing of the title change or handling of the division as a whole (what else is new?), fine. But don't blame Rousey. NFL fans don't sit around and get mad when a rookie quarterback makes mistakes. It's the exact opposite, actually. 

Rousey deserves the same treatment. The results are right there in the ring each time she shows up. The threat of WWE mishandling it looms in the background, but until then it's best to appreciate just how well this has panned out in the hands of someone who continues to proclaim their love for the business. 

The Rousey era is here, and the biggest negative is not being able to see her realize her immense potential faster than we have so far.