Ronda Rousey’s WrestleMania 34 Match Officially Announced

It’s official — Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle will take on Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in a mixed tag match at WrestleMania 34.

Monday Night Raw opened this week with Kurt Angle calling out Triple H for hitting him with a sucker punch last week, which prompted Stephanie McMahon to come out and try to calm him down. Out walked Rousey, who announced that she had decided who she wanted to face McMahon at WrestleMania 34 in her first professional wrestling match.

Triple H, whom McMahon claimed wasn’t in the building minutes prior, ran out and tried to call it off. But Angle, the General Manager of Raw, revealed that both McMahon and Hunter still had contracts as full-time wrestlers, meaning they could be booked in a match. Angle then said he wanted to get some payback for Triple H attacking him back at Survivor Series, and added himself and The Game in to make it a mixed tag match.

This led to both sides getting physical, with Triple H and Angle exchanging punches and McMahon attempting to hit Rousey from behind. But Rousey finally gained the upper hand by pulling McMahon back into the ring by the hair and dropping her with a Samoan drop.

The rivalry between Rousey, McMahon and Triple H stretches all the way back to WrestleMania 31 three years ago. Rousey was called into the ring to join Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as they tried to fight back against The Authority, ending with Rousey slamming McMahon with a judo throw.

Fast forward to the Royal Rumble in January and Rousey made her official WWE debut, squaring off with Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss and Asuka before shaking hands with McMahon at ringside.

Then at Elimination Chamber Rousey signed her (kayfabe) contract, but not before Angle let slip that McMahon and Triple H were plotting to humiliate her once she was an active member of the roster. This led to Rousey slamming Hunter through a table.

ESPN reported moments after Rousey’s first appearance at the Rumble that she had signed a multi-year contract with the WWE.

“This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt,” Rousey said in an exclusive interview with ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne. “When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.’

“It’s funny — it’s kind of like acting, in that it was something I always wanted to do but I never thought was in the cards for me,” Rousey said. “And now that I realize I really do have this opportunity, I feel like my 6-year-old self would totally kick my ass if I didn’t take it.”