WrestleMania season is always a time of rumour and innuendo and the changing plans for Ronda Rousey have proved to be no exception.
In early March it was reported that plans for the former UFC had already changed, seemingly at her request. Rousey had been scheduled to defend the SmackDown Women’s Title against Rhea Ripley at the spectacular in California, but that match was nixed. Instead, Rousey wanted to challenge for the Women’s Tag Team Titles with Shayna Baszler.
This led to Charlotte Flair beating Rousey for the title on her return to SmackDown, and her WrestleMania match with Rhea Ripley was confirmed. On the other side of the coin, Rousey and Baszler were scheduled to challenge for, and win the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Although this match hadn’t been formally announced.
However, on March 18th it was reported that the Women’s Tag Team Title match had been scrapped. This came as WWE announced there would be a men’s and women’s “WrestleMania Showcase” Fatal-Four-Way Match added to the card. Despite Rousey’s planned match being pulled from the show, it was stated that she would still be competing on the show.
A further report from Wrestle Votes added that Rousey and Baszler will be involved in the women’s Fatal-Four-Way Match.
“As of last creative discussion, the women’s fatal four way at WrestleMania will be: Raquel/ Liv vs. Shayna / Ronda vs. Nattie / Shotzi vs. Carmella & Chelsea.”
On SmackDown, Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan teamed up to qualify for the match at WrestleMania.
Ronda Rousey Still Out Of Action
Ronda Rousey is currently dealing with a hairline fracture in her arm. The issue became public knowledge after the March 3rd episode of SmackDown where she was written out of a match she was supposed to have on the show. Despite the injury, the former SmackDown Women’s Champion is expected to be fit to compete at WrestleMania.