Ronda Rousey, or perhaps more accurately how fans feel about her, has been on a rollercoaster ride in WWE. The Rowdy One debuted in a tag match that floored most who watched it, but by the time she competed at WrestleMania 35 a year later, the shine had worn off for a lot of fans. Rousey returned and won this year's Royal Rumble, and is once again SmackDown Women's Champion.
Ronda Rousey Picks Her Own Opponents
While she doesn't compete every week, Rousey continues to wrestle more often than most people probably would have expected. Even though you might not like her, WWE has done a pretty great job of continuing to make her feel special despite semi-regular appearances. As for who gets to stand opposite Rousey for those appearances, apparently that's up to her.
Rousey recently revealed on her YouTube channel that she gets to choose who her opponents are in WWE. “I’m spoiled in that I get to pick who I want to work with like ‘Hey I think this person’s awesome and has a lot of potential,” Rousey explained (H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription). The SmackDown Women's Champion gave Raquel Rodriguez as an example of someone she lobbied to face recently.
Picking Raquel Rodriguez
“I’m a fan of Raquel anyway. So I’ve been wanting to work with her for a while just cause she’s so damn strong and then I don’t have to worry about hurting her.” Being a former UFC Champion, Rousey's wrestling style is obviously pretty stiff. What she means by that comment isn't that she wants to hurt her opponents, but that Rodriguez is a bigger opponent so can handle more of what she throws her way.
Rousey won back the SmackDown Women's Title at Extreme Rules, but her first challenger for the newly won gold is yet to be revealed. The champ has revealed her desire to change the title's name now that she has won it back. Rousey has requested WWE drop the word women's from the championship's name, something it previously trialed with the NXT Women's Title while Rhea Ripley was champion.
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