Jordan Strauss/Associated Press Ronda Rousey responded Saturday to critics who took issue with her calling WWE and professional wrestling as a whole "fake fights for fun" during an interview.
Rousey acknowledged the difficult job that WWE Superstars have but called it insulting to "real fighters" to pretend that WWE has the same level of realism as other combat sports:
The former UFC women's bantamweight champion and Raw women's champion appeared on the Wild Ride! with Steve-O podcast this week and touched on several topics, including her time in WWE (warning: Some language NSFW):
Rousey called some of WWE's fans "f--king ungrateful" during the interview, and multiple WWE Superstars have responded negatively to her referring to pro wrestling as "fake fights."
While Rousey did have some negative things to say during the interview, she also praised WWE and noted that she enjoys the world of professional wrestling:
"I love the WWE. I had such a great time. I love all the girls in the locker room. Running out there and having fake fights for fun is just the best thing. I love choreography. I love acting. I love theater. Live theater and some of the last forms of live theater. But, I was doing basically part-time and I was away from home 200 days out of the year. And when I did get home, I was so sleep deprived cause you just don't have time to lay down."Rousey didn't rule out a return to WWE at some point, but noted that she would only do a part-time schedule, which is when she blamed some fans for not appreciating her contributions:
"So it's just like ... what am I doing it for if I'm not being able to spend my time and energy on my family, but instead spending my time and my energy on a bunch of f--king ungrateful fans that don't even appreciate me? I love performing. I love the girls. I love being out there ... but, at the end of the day, I was just like, 'F--k these fans, dude.' My family loves me and they appreciate me and I want all my energy to go into them. So that was my decision at the end of the day. It's like, 'Hey girls. Love what you're doing. I'm gonna try and take all my momentum and push you guys as far as I can ... fly little birds, fly! I'm going f--king home!' And that was basically it."WWE Superstars Alexa Bliss and Lana were among those who spoke out publicly on Twitter regarding Rousey referring to wrestling as fake:
Bliss suffered an injury during a match against Rousey and missed a significant amount of time, which she referenced in her tweet.
Rousey debuted at the 2018 Royal Rumble and went on to compete at two WrestleManias. She held the Raw women's title for 232 days before dropping it at WrestleMania 35 to Becky Lynch in a Triple Threat match that also included Charlotte Flair.
That match became the first women's bout ever to close WrestleMania. If not for Rousey's crossover popularity, a women's main event at WrestleMania may not have happened last year.
Rousey has not appeared on WWE programming since WrestleMania 35 over one year ago, but there is little doubt that WWE will welcome her back with open arms if and when she wants to return.
While there may be an element of truth to what Rousey is saying, she played a heel at the end of her first stint with the company, so it is possible that she is utilizing that persona to some degree to set the stage for an eventual return.
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