With Ronda Rousey seemingly done with WWE — at least for now — debate rages over her legacy.
Ronda Rousey came into WWE as a whirlwind and quickly earned plaudits for her performances. At the time many seasoned observers hailed her as the most impressive rookie the industry had ever seen. However, when returning to the company in January 2022 having been out of action for over two years, things were very different.
Fans routinely called out the star, claiming she didn’t care, and her trademark dedication and intensity had deserted her. It was against this backdrop of apathy that Rousey seemingly called time on her WWE career.
Despite this, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has now come to Rousey’s defence in a lengthy post on Facebook. Foley began by accepting that her second run wasn’t as impressive as her first, believing that motherhood caused a shift in her priorities.
“It would be easy to dismiss Ronda Rousey‘s time in WWE as something of a disappointment. Maybe she never became as beloved as Becky Lynch, as proficient as Charlotte or Sasha, or had a great long term story arc like the one Rhea Ripley is currently enjoying as part of Judgment Day.
I haven’t always been watching the product as intently these past few years as I had for the previous 40, but from what I did see – coupled with a pretty good gut feeling – is that Ronda wasn’t quite as invested emotionally for her second WWE run, as she was for her first. Motherhood has a way of redefining priorities, and rightfully so.
But I firmly believe that her first run was not only incredibly impressive in the ring, but even more consequential in introducing new eyeballs to the product, and injecting a major dose of credibility into the general public’s perspective of professional wrestling.”
Foley went on to claim that it’s unlikely women would have main evented WrestleMania 35 if it wasn’t for Rousey. The WWE legend compared her rise to that of stars such as Kurt Angle, The Rock, and Steve Austin.
“Without Ronda, it’s highly unlikely WWE would have featured a women’s match as its main event at WrestleMania in 2019. I still believe the real marquee match would have been Becky versus Ronda in a singles match – but nonetheless, let the record show that Ronda Rousey main evented WrestleMania with just one year of professional wrestling experience.
I would put Ronda’s rapid progress up there with that of Steve Austin, Kurt Angle and The Rock – the fastest learning curves I’ve personally seen in our business. But each of those giants had one formidable arrow in their quivers that Ronda never quite got the grasp of – the ability to cut a great promo.
That’s really all that was missing, all that prevented Ronda from being considered an all-time great. Steve Austin was a respected and admired worker for eight years before he caught fire with the “Stone Cold” character and became one of the biggest drawing cards of all time.
Dwayne Johnson went through some growing pains as Rocky Miavia before his switch-flipping heel turn that revealed one of the greatest entertainers in our business, or any other.
Kurt Angle, as amazing as he was in the ring, became a beloved and iconic character by utilizing an innate sense of comedic timing that would have been impossible to guess at. If Ronda had an achilles’ heel as a performer, it was that all of her mistakes were made on the big stage, and that her wrestling character did not evolve as quickly as her in-ring skills did.”
Also praising Rousey following the exit is the Superstar who fought alongside the former Women’s Champion in her first-ever match, Kurt Angle. Along with multiple Hall of Famers, former opponent Raquel Rodriguez had nothing but praise regarding her time with Rousey.
Has Ronda Rousey Retired?
On August 7th, Ronda Rousey confirmed she was done with WWE. The star wrote on social media that Shayna Baszler was the reason she got into wrestling, and after their match at SummerSlam, she has no reason to stay.
It’s unknown whether Rousey is open to return in the future, or if her WWE career is over.