Ronda Rousey, a former MMA star, transitioned to professional wrestling in 2018 when she debuted in WWE at WrestleMania 34. Rousey quickly rose to prominence within WWE, capturing multiple championships such as the Raw Women’s Championship and SmackDown Women’s Championship.
After leaving WWE, Rousey has been vocal about her dissatisfaction with the promotion and its internal workings. While promoting her memoir Our Fight, Rousey spoke about her disdain for promoters Bruce Prichard and John Laurinaitis. She also noted that she couldn’t fully elaborate on her experiences with the WWE veterans in the book due to a word limit.
Rousey has criticized former WWE CEO Vince McMahon on several occasions. In her memoir, she recounted an incident during her time in the ring where she argued about the terminology of the women’s division in WWE. Rousey clashed with McMahon over not using ‘Women’s’ in the title ‘SmackDown Women’s Title’ during a match. She argued that the men’s title wasn’t referred to as such, so she shouldn’t have to specify ‘Women’s’ either.
“‘When the men start calling it a men’s title, I’ll start calling it a women’s,’ I said. I raised the issue with Triple H…He later told me he had mentioned it to Vince, who was appalled. ‘Get out here with that woke bullsh*t,’ Vince had told him, ‘We’re going to call it the women’s title because they’re fu*king women.’”
Despite Triple H agreeing with Rousey’s perspective, McMahon dismissed her suggestion, emphasizing the need to refer to the title as ‘Women’s Title.’ Rousey’s account sheds light on the power dynamics within WWE and the resistance she faced when challenging established norms.
