Ronda Rousey thought WWE’s booking decision was “ridiculous” when it came to her first championship win.
At SummerSlam 2018, Ronda Rousey defeated Alexa Bliss to win the RAW Women’s Championship. This was her first title win in the pro wrestling industry, but whether it was a memorable affair or not is subjective. Sometimes, certain matches are ubiquitously hailed as exceptional.
While not inherently a bad wrestling contest, Rousey can’t help but wonder if Alexa Bliss was the right opponent for her, because it did not complement her stature at that time.
At WrestleMania 31 in April 2015, when she joined forces with The Rock against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, it was a huge moment. But then things did not pan out as hoped. At UFC 193 in November 2015, Rousey fell to Holly Holm. Be that as it may, her star power was still high by the time she signed a WWE contract in 2018.
Ronda Rousey Says Fighting Alexa Bliss Was “Ridiculous,” Blasts WWE For Decision-Making Process
On The Lapsed Fan podcast, The Baddest Woman on the Planet revealed that WWE booked Alexa Bliss as champ heading into SummerSlam 2018 because Bliss was supremely over among fans. This was evident in her merchandise sales.
What appears to be Rousey’s case is that, being an athlete from the UFC background, wrestling Bliss seemingly did not seem like the smartest booking decision.
The fact that they had me fighting Alexa Bliss at all was f**king ridiculous, and you wanna know why they had me against Alexa Bliss? Because she had the most merch sales at the time… Like, what the f**k? That’s your decision-making process?” Ronda Rousey articulated her train of thoughts on TLF.
Alexa Bliss instigated a rivalry with Ronda Rousey in 2018 after she cashed in Money in the Bank on Nia Jax at the cost of the former UFC mauler at the eponymous event. Her attack on Rousey during the latter’s match against Jax set the tone for their summer program.