At Survivor Series WarGames on November 26th, Ronda Rousey continued her dominant reign as the SmackDown Women’s Champion when she successfully defended the title against Shotzi.
The match itself came in for criticism due to two uncomfortable moments. On one occasion, Ronda Rousey was supposed to catch and turn a jumping Shotzi into some kind of slam, while she also appeared to almost block a DDT onto the ring apron, meaning Shotzi just fell to the floor.
Despite this, Rousey’s reign continues and it seems that her next challenger has already been chosen.
Who will be Ronda Rousey’s next challenger?
According to a report by WrestlingNews.co, Rousey will take on Shotzi’s friend and Ally, Raquel Rodriguez at the Royal Rumble with the SmackDown Women’s Championship on the line.
Onscreen, Rodriguez is currently suffering from a broken arm and dislocated elbow. This was the result of a vicious attack on her by Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler on the SmackDown before Survivor Series. The pair attacked her backstage and trapped her arm in the lid of an equipment case before smashing it down.
Later in the night, Rodriguez aided Shotzi in a tag match despite the injury, only to be caught in an Armbar from Rousey which forced her to tap out.
Although this is a huge opportunity for Rodriguez, WrestlingNews.co also noted that Ronda Rousey is still scheduled to go into WrestleMania 39 as SmackDown Women’s Champion in April, so it seems unlikely she will be dethroned anytime soon.
Legends defend Ronda Rousey
After Rousey came in for heavy criticism after Survivor Series, several wrestling legends have come to her defence. This included Ric Flair, who described her as “fabulous” and said she will never stop being an attraction.
Dutch Mantell also weighed in on the situation, laying the blame at the feet of Shotzi as he doesn’t think one of the moves was discussed before the match took place.