Ronda Rousey‘s UFC career might, for all intents and purposes, by effectively over thanks to a 48-second rinsing from Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 back in December of 2016, but her career inside a ring is apparently far from over.
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It’s been speculated for a while but reports are now swirling that Rousey is getting close to finalising a deal with the WWE, which would see the 30-year-old make a long-awaited jump across to the wild world of professional wrestling.
USA Today reports that “two people close” to Rousey asserted that the Olympic bronze medalist is finalising a deal to jump across to Vince McMahon‘s pro-graps megalith, which would quite obviously carry a hefty price-tag with it given Rousey’s star appeal.
Rousey’s ties to the WWE are numerous and speculation has been mounting that her apparently imminent jump to the ‘E will lead to a marquee matchup at the upcoming WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans next April.
Ronda previously made a special appearance at WrestleMania 31 in 2015, joining The Rock in-ring to confront Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, with the then-UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion throwing Triple H with a hip-toss.
Rousey’s ties to the WWE also extends to her running-mates, nicknamed the Four Horsewomen of MMA. Shayna Baszler gave up mixed-martial arts in favour of pro-wrestling, and is currently signed to the WWE after finishing second in the company’s women-only Mae Young Classic tournament earlier this year. Fellow fighter Marina Shafir is engaged to current NXT wrestler Roderick Strong.
Previous reports have stated that Rousey has been training for a pro-wrestling career during visits to the WWE’s sprawling Performance Centre complex in Orlando, Florida. And a match against the WWE’s version of the Four Horsewomen – Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch – has been strongly teased.
Whether that clash eventuates at WrestleMania, or if Rousey competes in a different one-on-one matchup remains to be seen. Regardless, any potential deal with Rousey is likely to be more along the lines of the one afforded to Brock Lesnar; one in which she is used sparingly as an attraction performer, rather than a full-time in-ring competitor.
Either way, wrestling – which is already the greatest thing in the world – just got a hell of a lot more intriguing.
My take? Put her in the ring with Asuka in a worked-shoot fight and let ’em kick the piss out of each other.
That’s good-ass TV, right there.
