Ronda Rousey Shocks Fans, Joins Ring of Honor After WWE Departure
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Former WWE Superstar ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey makes her Ring of Honor debut this week at the promotion’s latest tapings. Rousey met Shayna Baszler in the first ‘MMA Rules’ battle at WWE SummerSlam 2023, which proved to be Rousey’s final fight with the promotion. Despite hinting on social media that she is retired, Rousey returned to the ring last month for the Lucha VaVOOM organisation. Rousey’s second match outside of the WWE would have her compete for Wrestling REVOLVER earlier this week at their ‘Unreal’ show. Rousey made her Ring of Honor debut during the most recent taping, her first appearance in the wrestling profession since leaving WWE.
Ronda Rousey just made her ROH debut at the taping
— Fightful Wrestling (@Fightful) November 18, 2023
pic.twitter.com/O7HB1lb76J
In a rematch from the Pro Wrestling REVOLVER show, Ronda Rousey teamed up with fellow MMA Horsewoman Marina Shafir to take on ROH Women’s World Champion Athena & Billie Starkz. Rousey’s arrival in Ring of Honour raises the possibility that she might soon be battling for AEW. Rousey’s debut would undoubtedly shine a light on the AEW Women’s Division, a part of the promotion that fans frequently believe has been overlooked. At tonight’s Full Gear event, AEW President Tony Khan will reveal a major signing, who he describes as one of the best wrestlers in the world.
Former WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey Makes Her Ring Of Honor Debut This Week
Ronda Rousey’s post-WWE professional wrestling career came to an unexpected halt β in Ring of Honour. During the Ring of Honour tapings after AEW Collision & Rampage at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Friday night, Rousey was the unexpected hand-picked partner of her friend Marina Shafir against Ring of Honour Women’s World champion Athena and Bille Starkz. The move adds some intrigue to AEW, as company president Tony Khan, who currently owns Ring of Honour, is promising a significant signing at Saturday night’s Full Gear pay-per-view. It’s uncertain whether the 36-year-old Ronda Rousey would be willing to sign a longer-term deal with any promotion right now, having just finished her second run with WWE at SummerSlam in August, where she lost in an MMA rules bout against former tag team member and close friend Shayna Baszler. Will Ospreay, who is about to become a free agent with New Japan Pro Wrestling, has also been mentioned as a possible addition at Full Gear. Rousey said she was done with WWE on Oct. 11, but then she came back to wrestle with her friend Shafir at Lucha VaVoom in Los Angeles.
Later, at the Wrestling Revolver Unreal pay-per-view on Thursday, Ronda Rousey and Shafir teamed up again to face Athena and the 19-year-old Starkz, who are both AEW wrestlers. The match concluded in a no-contest following Athena smacked Rousey with the ROH belt, and it appeared to set up their match on Friday night. Also, as part of the tale, the former Raw and SmackDown women’s champion got a nasty-looking suplex on her head from Starkz, who pushed into and did not regret it on social media. It gave at least one more indication that it was possibly designed to lead to another development down the road. It’s unclear whether Rousey’s match on Friday will lead to something more substantial with either of Khan’s companies, but it defines a working relationship as well as demonstrates that the “Baddest Woman on the Planet” might turn up anyplace unexpectedly as she clearly enjoys wrestling who and when she wants.
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