The last time Ronda Rousey entered the WWE ring was during Wrestlemania 31. The rare scene was part of a push for “Furious 7” where she backed up Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
For those who may have forgotten, Rousey showed some of his stuff when she locked up Stephanie McMahon with an arm bar. While all that was in the script, WWE fans anticipated her to return at Wrestlemania 32 for a potential match. As most know, nothing close to that happened.
Rousey on Wrestlemania 34
The reason behind that was Rousey was under contract with the UFC.
Though they had worked out special deals with the WWE such as the UFC 200 appearance of Brock Lesnar, a lot has changed since then.
Since first losing to Holly Holm, Rousey’s stock in the Octagon has sorely dipped. UFC President Dana White is not as high before on the former UFC Women’s bantamweight champion so a jump to the WWE could be happening soon.
There is no official word for now, though all signs point to her joining the WWE roster with other options dwindling. Rousey was at the Mae Young Classic though she was more of a spectator than a participant. Could that change in the coming months?
Seeing how Rousey has not hinted at a potential Octagon return, an official signing could happen at some point (if not yet).
Adding more fuel to the fire was the WWE asking fans who they would want “Rowdy” face in the event she would compete in the wrestling ring.
If @RondaRousey were to compete in @WWE, which Superstar would YOU want to see her battle first? https://t.co/yUEaFdqDcA
— WWE (@WWE) July 15, 2017
With the pieces slowly taking shape, an imminent Rousey debut could be happening.
The upcoming shows could see her making appearances – a route most new WWE talent take before eventually signing up.
Who will Rousey face first?
Going back to the Twitter poll made by the WWE, it seems that choices have been whittled down to three names – Charlotte Flair, Natalya, and Stephanie McMahon. Obviously, most would love to see Stephanie since both already planted seeds at Wrestlemania 31.
The only problem with that is that it would be an obvious mismatch, meaning a Rousey win would be too easy. So the next feasible choice could be Charlotte. The daughter of Ric Flair has been getting a push and she has set her mark as a WWE champion. Seeing how Rousey is a former champion herself, a battle between former champs makes plenty of sense – with all due respect to Natalya.
If that is the plan, the next question is how ready Rousey is to compete in the wrestling ring? There will be differences so “Rowdy” may need to do more than applying arm bars. She has had her problems being aggressive but the WWE could be a good place to re-start and possibly discover new weapons outside UFC grapples and punishing holds.
