Ronda Rousey has always had something of a strained relationship with a number of WWE fans and it appears that it is getting worse. At WWE Survivor Series, Rousey defended her SmackDown Women’s Title against Shotzi, but came under fire from fans for her performance.
In particular, those online pointed to two uncomfortable moments during the bout. The first saw Rousey seemingly out of position to turn a Shotzi top rope dive into a slam, and the second saw her seemingly block a DDT onto the apron, which led Shotzi to fall to the floor. This coupled with Rousey’s perceived indifference to professional wrestling has led a number of fans to become openly hostile towards the star.
“Fire Ronda Rousey” Trends Again
In the days after the event “Fire Ronda Rousey” trending on social media, and gathered pace during Monday Night Raw. Instead of fan frustration dying down the hashtag was trending for a second time during the December 2nd edition of Friday Night SmackDown. This was despite Rousey appearing on neither show.
Despite the negative comments from a number of fans, Ronda Rousey has found some support from veterans within the business. Ric Flair came to the defence of the star after Survivor Series describing her as “fabulous.” Flair stated that Rousey’s opponents need to be taken into account, adding that they need to pull their weight too.
Dutch Mantell also spoke up in defence of the former UFC star, explaining that he didn’t blame her for any of the supposed botches at Survivor Series. Mantell instead placed the blame for the DDT spot in particular firmly at the feet of Shotzi.
Ronda Rousey returned to WWE at the 2022 Royal Rumble and proceeded to win the women’s Royal Rumble match. Since then she has captured the SmackDown Women’s Title twice, most recently at Extreme Rules with a win over Liv Morgan.