Ronda Rousey in Desperate Need of Paige on Road to WWE WrestleMania 35

On the February 25 episode of WWE Raw, Ronda Rousey stumbled over what was, narratively speaking, a very important promo. 

Becky Lynch, recently "suspended" by the Authority, jumped the crowd barrier and interrupted Rousey's tag match against The Riott Squad.

The Man beat up Natalya, Rousey's partner, with a crutch. The former UFC star blew her cool and demanded Lynch is reinstated so she could fight her at WrestleMania 35.

When Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon refused this proposal, Rousey cut a scattered, nervous promo that wrapped up with the final line: "Vince says that he makes... he's the man... he makes all the tough decisions... Steph, it's time for him to make the right decision."

She then laid the Raw women's championship belt in the center of the ring and walked to the back.

This was supposed to be one of the most impactful moments of the angle—a moment to be highlighted and celebrated in the WrestleMania pre-match promo.

Here was Rousey, a champion who believed and acted upon high-minded principles. She was so incorruptible that she would rather relinquish the Raw women's title if she couldn't defend it against her best competition.

This should have gotten a massive pop from the crowd; there was nothing to not like about what she said or did, booking-wise. Instead, though, the audience response was mixed and unenthusiastic.

This is a messaging problem. Rousey regularly has difficulty explaining to the WWE Universe what she is doing and why she is doing it. The commentators expressed some legitimate confusion after the segment was over. Had she surrendered the title or not?

That's a great question.

It's been a year since Rousey debuted in WWE, and her mic work remains the weakest part of her game. She's got better since those early, in-ring contract signings, but she could stand to improve a bit more. Her one-liner insults need work; it felt forced and awkward to call Lynch a "ginger-haired douche in cuffs."

She needs to slow down, as her delivery feels harried and lacks deliberativeness. And she still has this frustrating habit of moving the microphone away from her mouth while she's talking, which causes the sound to drop in and out.

Charlotte Flair is on SmackDown, and Lynch is "suspended." We're at a point in the story where Rousey has to do most of the talking. And we now know, based on her last promo, that WWE is asking too much of her. Promos were never her strong suit, but if she's stumbling to communicate essential plot points, something needs to change.

There's a couple of ways WWE writers can fix things. They can create more backstage segments with Rousey; so long as they air during the show, the audience will assume they're live even if they're not, and it'll allow the former UFC star to do several takes instead of a single, live one.

And moving forward, Rousey needs a manager of sorts to help her do her talking. This person wouldn't need to do all of the talking—back in the day, Paul Bearer would typically talk before The Undertaker delivered the final lines—but someone who's verbally capable and can lighten the narrative load would be helpful.

The first impulse might be to tap Paul Heyman for this role, since he's been doing such an excellent job as Brock Lesnar's advocate. However, that's a bad idea; he's so blustery and loud that he sucks the oxygen out of the room. Rousey needs someone with a little more subtlety.

How about Paige?

She lost her title as general manager of Smackdown Live after the McMahons took over the red and blue brands. Prior to that, though, she had excelled in her role. She had a lot more gravitas and power to intimidate than Kurt Angle did on Raw. She communicated her booking decisions clearly and forcefully.

Advocate Paige would accomplish several things at once. It could be a tie-in to promoting the movie based on her life story, Fighting With My Family. It would help Rousey communicate better and place another woman in the forefront of this important storyline.

And it would involve Paige in what is likely the main event of WrestleMania 35 on April 7—a lofty placement she deserves but will never get as a wrestler after her in-ring career was cut short by injury.

It's not the conventional play, but it would work, without a doubt. And it would go over well with the WWE Universe.