Ronda Rousey will wrestle her second match since returning to WWE last month at the Royal Rumble when she travels to Saudi Arabia this Saturday for Elimination Chamber. Rousey will team with Naomi to take on Charlotte Flair and and Sonya Deville.
But the story gets a little crazier from there.
According to a report from PWInsider, a stipulation will be added to the match during this Friday’s taped edition of WWE SmackDown. That stipulation? Rousey will have to wrestle the match with one hand tied behind her back.
This week’s SmackDown was taped last week in New Orleans due to the WWE travel schedule to get to Saudi Arabia in time for this weekend’s big event. You have may have seen the widely circulated fan video of Flair taking a slow motion bump into a table during a contract signing during the taping. It was a bit awkward, to say the least.
Rousey is set to take on Charlotte Flair for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 38; she used her Royal Rumble match victory to be positioned in that match. What will be interesting is whether or not WWE uses the stipulation at Elimination Chamber to actually beat her, with a built in excuse, before WrestleMania.
In a WWE Digital Exclusive backstage interview after last week’s SmackDown, Rousey alleged that she could defeat Deville with one hand tied behind her back — clearly planting the seeds for what is to be revealed about the new stipulation for this match on SmackDown this week.
After being asked if she’s worried about Deville, Rousey said, “Worried about Sonya? No, I could beat Sonya with one hand tied behind my back. She’s the last of my worries.”
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