Ronda Rousey made headlines last night when she appeared at the end of the Royal Rumble PPV. The former bantamweight champ made her way down to the ring to stare the top women in the WWE in the eyes, donning a familiar jacket all the while.
It didn’t take long for fans to notice that Rousey was wearing the jacket of the late great Rowdy Roddy Piper. Rousey was very close with Piper, and Piper’s family, and was given the jacket by Piper’s son when he found out she was going to WWE. Piper’s daughter Ariel Toombs was interviewed by TMZ to talk about Rousey’s debut.
Honestly, I feel honored. It’s so empowering to see a woman like Ronda, like, coming into wrestling right now. And then, on top of it, her wearing his jacket, that symbolism is very sweet. She’s just so great about carrying the torch and showing her Piper pride.”
The beauty of Ronda is that she’s bringing in her own fanbase, so she has a whole lot of fans taht maybe weren’t even Piper fans that she’ll be bringing her own element to. There’ll never be another ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. There just won’t.
We can all pay tribute to him and do our best, but I think Ronda is gonna do a great job taking the talent and the fighting gharisma she has, and becoming her own new thing. And I think this is just her paying tribute because dad was so much a part of her life.
Ronda Rousey looks to carry on her friend’s legacy while making her own in the world of professional wrestling.
