Rowdy

UFC’s Ronda Rousey Enters the WWE Ring

Mixed martial arts megastar impresses in first pro-wrestling match.

Ronda Rousey—formerly the biggest name in mixed martial arts—has answered critics who doubted her move to professional wrestling after a stunning debut at WWE’s Wrestlemania. Professional-wrestling fans had voiced skepticism about how Rousey would cross over to scripted fighting, but Rousey’s first match at the flagship event received widespread acclaim. Rousey and partner, Kurt Angle, defeated Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a tag-team match Sunday night, with Rousey beating down Triple H—a 250-pound former WWE champion—and hoisting him above her shoulders. Rousey, who grew up as a wrestling fan, wore a jacket previously owned by late WWE legend Rowdy Roddy Piper. Jeremy Botter of The Bleacher Report wrote: “I was one of the voices out there who was skeptical about Rousey’s chances at being a good professional wrestler. We’ve all been silenced. Rousey put on one heck of a performance, and if Sunday night was any indication, it’s going to be fun to see just how far she goes in a WWE ring.”