‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey has been named by WWE as one of the top ten women’s wrestlers of all time as part of their 50 Greatest Women Superstars series.
Rousey blazed a trail in mixed-martial arts before embarking on a career in professional wrestling. She also became the first woman from the USA to win an Olympic gold medal in judo. Rousey achieved that feat by claiming a bronze medal in the 70kg weight class at the Beijing games in 2008.
Embarking on her MMA career after this, Rousey was the first woman fighter to sign with the UFC. Rousey was a box office smash for the company as she tore through the competition defending her Bantamweight Championship. Rousey left the MMA world after two staggering defeats in 2015 and 2016. Her MMA record stands at 12 victories and 2 defeats. Nine of those wins came by submission due to her patented armbar.
Entering The Professional Wrestling World
Ronda Rousey shocked the wrestling world when she made her WWE debut at the 2018 Royal Rumble. After the inaugural women’s Royal Rumble match, the winner Asuka stood in the ring alongside Alexa Bliss and Charlotte Flair who were the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champions respectively. Rousey’s music hit and she made her way to the ring to confront the three women and announce her arrival in WWE.
Rousey made her in-ring debut three months later at WrestleMania 34 where she teamed with Kurt Angle. The duo faced off with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Angle and Rousey won the match when Rousey locked in her armbar causing McMahon to submit.
Ronda Rousey won her first and only title in WWE at SummerSlam 2018. She dominated and defeated Alexa Bliss for the Raw Women’s Championship in four minutes. Rousey went on to main event the first women’s only event in WWE history defending her Raw Women’s Title against Nikki Bella.
Rousey then blazed another trail as she, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair became the first women to main event WrestleMania. At WrestleMania 35 in 2019, Becky Two-Belts was born as she pinned Rousey to win both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Titles. This was to date, Rousey’s last appearance in WWE.
The 50 Greatest Women Superstars show on the WWE Network has been counting down the very best women’s wrestlers in history. The criteria the list is based on includes in-ring accomplishments, championships, and creating legendary moments. The list is also only for ‘modern day’ women wrestlers as rankings stem from 1993 until the present.
Ranked at number nine on the list. ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey in her one-year run has been ranked higher than WWE Hall Of Famers Beth Phoenix, Luna Vachon, and Molly Holly.
You can view the full list here.