Ronda Rousey’s affiliation with WWE broke the sports world. Literally every conceivable news outlet was covering her surprise appearance during the closing moments of Royal Rumble 2018, confirming her intentions to jump ship from the world of MMA to Sports Entertainment. To us, those that feed off of insider gossip, this wasn’t as huge of a shock as it was to the rest of the world. Rumours had been floating for months regarding Ronda’s developing relationship with Hunter and the McMahon family, even showing her face at the PC from time to time. Nevertheless, following the Rumble, everyone was talking about Ronda, the biggest box office attraction since Brock Lesnar.
What exactly does this mean for WWE? They have a golden opportunity to usher in an entirely new era for Professional Wrestling, one which champions a hybrid of the ‘sports entertainment style’ with Mixed Martial Arts. Should Ronda prove herself as a successful transition from UFC over to the Dub, then it could indeed suggest that when looking for future stars, talent scouts should be cherry-picking MMA training camps instead of college football teams.
Ronda is a glorified guinea pig. Yes, she’s the biggest globally recognised name to come out of the UFC, but to WWE, she’s the means of testing the waters for a new demographic. It’s been widely discussed that the fanbase’s demands are drifting more towards a legitimate style of in-ring action, with colourful characters and limitless charisma taking a back-seat in the process. Therefore, Rousey should be the ideal test subject, considering her lack of experience as an ‘entertainer’.
The issues that Ronda faces however, is managing to remain over with the current audience. Her minor appearances thus far haven’t really left the best first impressions, especially after the diabolical segment she stumbled through at Elimination Chamber. The direction seems to be that at Wrestlemania 34, Ronda will be teaming with Kurt Angle to face Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Might this be a little premature to assume she can carry this feud as a plucky babyface staring down the oppressive authority? Let’s face it, nobody really wants to see this interpretation of her, they’d rather see Ronda Rousey – the fighter. By simply booking her like her male counterpart, Brock Lesnar, they could have polished her into something truly unique for the women’s division right off the bat. Selling her matches as ‘fights’ that had to be earned would set her aside from the rest of the roster, making the most of her star power to not only market feuds and events but also other superstars stepping up to challenge her.
Using Ronda as a means of producing content that differs from the norm of WWE could have been a step in the right direction for the ailing PPV schedule. Brock Lesnar, despite his inconsistent scheduling, has maintained this ‘big fight feel’ presence. Since his return in 2012, pretty much all of his matches have felt they exist external to the rest of the card. The builds surrounding the various feuds he’s had with the likes of Roman Reigns, Triple H, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman flirted with ideas not usually found within the archetypal WWE narratives. They felt more personal, more chaotic and more legitimate. The matches also breathed some fresh air into the WWE, since Brock realised that he could develop an entire arsenal around one move, they stand out as matches that keep you invested in a way that few others do. Ronda could follow in the same vein, using her patented armbar submission as her means of telling a story.
Brock’s feuds write themselves, so could Rousey’s. You don’t need long-winded programmes or scripted promos to tell the story of two badasses colliding at the coming pay-per-view. You play on fantasy and you let the wrestlers do what they enjoy the most; bring out the best in one another.
I fear the worst for Ronda, if they continue to utilise her as just another generic female superstar. I get that they want to promote that she isn’t being given any ‘special treatment’ because of her celebrity status, but that doesn’t mean they can’t abuse her value as a means of challenging the conventions of Sports Entertainment. Allow Ronda to become a different kind of sports entertainer, amalgamate the two branches of wrestling and create more updated in-ring material for a new demographic of fans. They can’t allow the biggest prospect in years to wither away as someone that awkwardly points at signs and ‘fights the good fight on behalf of the WWE Universe’.
As the title suggests, this is all one big experiment. This may not even work out. The audience have already shown signs of rejection whenever Rousey’s name has been dropped in promos. Perhaps her transition will continue to be rather sloppy — after all, wrestling with the intention to entertain a varied audience isn’t exactly something she’s well versed in just yet. Either way, this is sure to be an interesting discussion over the course of the next year.
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