Ronda Rousey is opening up about her adversarial relationship with the WWE Universe.
On the latest episode of Ronda on the Road, Rousey spoke candidly about her departure from WWE in 2019 and her recent return.
Rousey made history at WrestleMania 35 when she, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair became the first women to headline a WrestleMania. Unfortunately “shattered” a knuckle in her hand during the match. She was also extremely discouraged with WWE fans
“Everyone was booing me out of the stadium,” Rousey recalls. “I was just like, man, fuck these people, I can’t wait to go home.”
She added, “When I left WWE, I had been getting booed out of the stadium, like, every day for months.”
“Do I stay true to myself and tell them to go fuck themselves?”
– Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey has portrayed a babyface character for the majority of her time in WWE. However, she’s found it difficult to play the hero when fans have rejected her so forcefully.
“I think one of the most uncomfortable and disingenuous I’ve ever felt was when I had to be a babyface and the crowd was being hostile towards me and I couldn’t just tell them exactly what I fucking felt,” she said.
“I was stuck between, do I stay true to myself and tell them to go fuck themselves, or do I, you know, respect Vince who has done so much for me, and not go against what he wants me to do?”
When she’s had the chance to act like a heel, she’s loved it, because she could finally be herself.
Advice from Paul Heyman & Vince McMahon
Despite some unpleasantness, she really missed wrestling during her time away. She wanted to return, but knew fans might still harbor some animosity towards her.
When Rousey returned at the Royal Rumble, she admits she was “super defensive.” At Raw after the Rumble, she was ready for fans to troll her into oblivion. She expected them to heckle her and bring signs with hurtful messages directed at her.
During her promo at the post-Rumble Raw, Ronda Rousey seemed agitated. Backstage after her segment, Paul Heyman pulled her aside and told her Vince McMahon was going to tell her one thing: she has to smile. She met with Vince and thats exactly what he said. “That was fantastic, you just need to smile.”
She told Vince the fans were booing her out of the building toward the end of her first run. Vince told her, “Yeah, but they’ve forgiven you for that.” She said she hasn’t forgiven the fans yet, but Vince told her it’s not about her, it’s about the fans.
She’s taken these words to heart and now has a more-balanced outlook on her relationship with WWE fans.
Ronda Rousey will challenge Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 38.
Watch Ronda Rousey speak about her WWE return on the latest episode of her Ronda on the Road series:
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