The hot topic in the professional wrestling world at the moment is the WWE’s signing of Ronda Rousey to a full-time deal. Rousey made her debut at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) following the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble. She pointed to the WrestleMania 34 sign, indicating her intentions to wrestle at the event.
Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, one “key reason” WWE brought the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion in is to help Stephanie McMahon become a bigger mainstream name. While McMahon is a big name in the world of professional wrestling, she isn’t as well known outside the context of WWE. Meltzer noted that although she didn’t fight in 2017, Rousey was still the most searched female athlete in the U.S last year.
The entire goal for a Rousey-Stephanie program is to help elevate McMahon’s mainstream star status outside of the company. The goal was compared to that of how Vince McMahon’s name was made – through his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. And Austin’s rise in mainstream media came with the help of his feud with Mike Tyson.
This explains why WWE is planning a Mixed Tag Team match between Rousey and a mystery partner (WWE hopes that can be The Rock) against the team of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34.
