At Survivor Series WarGames Rona Rousey successfully defended her SmackDown Women’s Championship against Shotzi. However, the match didn’t go off completely without controversy.
Immediately after the match Rousey came under fire for her performance, while in the days after the show ‘Fire Ronda Rousey’ was trending on Twitter. Fans pointed to the star’s apparent indifference to her performances and two notable uncomfortable moments during her match with Shotzi. On one occasion 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.
Ric Flair Defends Ronda Rousey
Speaking on his To Be The Man podcast, Ric Flair defended Ronda Rousey, suggesting that fans need to take into account who she is sharing the ring with.
“I think Ronda is fabulous. Who doesn’t like her again? I have to agree; I like Ronda personally. I think, you know, sometimes the need to look at who she is wrestling against, you know what I mean? You’re not going to get the same match out of Ronda every time. The opponent’s got to be able to carry their weight too.”
Flair added that Rousey will “never stop” being a star and an attraction, in part due to the success of her pre-WWE UFC career.
“Getting back to your point, she brings a lot of notoriety. She is arguably, and I actually pay a lot of attention to it now because I’ve become close friends with Julianna Pena, but she is the biggest box office female star they ever had at UFC. Ronda was just the biggest star. I don’t think she is ever going to stop being a star. An attraction. And once again, these people online, who are they?”
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.
H/t to Sportskeeda