Ronda Rousey Reportedly Injured Just Weeks Before WrestleMania
Ronda Rousey's road to WrestleMania just got a bit more complicated. The former UFC fighter has reportedly suffered a legitimate injury just weeks before WWE's biggest annual event. The news of Rousey's condition comes after she appeared on Friday's episode of SmackDown with her left arm in a sling. While it was explained in-storyline as occurring during a backstage brawl before the show, Wade Keller of PWTorch reports that the injury is legitimate.
"She aggravated a prior injury," Keller reported. And while the injury caused Rousey to be pulled from a Friday SmackDown bout against Tegan Nox, "it is not expected to infringe on her availability to wrestle at WrestleMania in four weeks."
Rousey's bout for WrestleMania has not been publicly announced. She and fellow MMA-fighter-turned-wrestler Shayna Bazler have been pushing into the tag division in recent weeks. This creative shift comes after Rousey suddenly lost the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship to a returning Charlotte Flair on Dec. 30, 2022. The unconfirmed rumors online point towards Rousey and Bazler challenging for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. That would point the duo in the direction of Becky Lynch and Lita, who won the titles on Monday's Raw episode. Lynch and Lita won championships from Damage CTRL (Dakota Kai and IYO Sky), and there's no telling if they would also be involved in a hypothetical championship match at WrestleMania.
WrestleMania 39 is a two-day event being held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on April 1 and 2. Peacock will stream the event. The announced matches on the card so far are: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes (for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship), Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley (for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship, Bianca Belair vs. Asuka (for the WWE Raw Women's Championship), and Brock Lesnar vs. Omos. Gunther will also defend the Intercontinental Championship against an undetermined opponent.
In addition to the aforementioned WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match, there are also a couple more rumored bouts fans and insiders are expecting to see, including John Cena vs. Austin Theory, Logan Paul vs. Seth Rollins and Bobby Lashley vs. Bray Wyatt. WWE is expected to finalize the WrestleMania 39 card in the coming weeks.