Once news broke that Ronda Rousey signed a full-time deal with WWE, fans expected to see her appear at RAW or SmackDown this week. When that didn’t happen, a few corners of the wrestling world got cranky. However, they’ll have to temper their frustrations because it may be a while until Rousey returns to WWE.
Days before her Royal Rumble moment, Rousey was in Columbia to film Mile 22. She had to sneak back into America for her WWE appearance but is said to already be back in South America for the movie. In an interview with USA Today’s FTW, Triple H revealed that she’ll stay there for what may be a few weeks.
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“She’ll finish up this movie, and then she’s in. She’ll be at the Performance Center, she’ll be training and work with us every day. And we’ll see where it goes. It is not for lack of desire or motivation if anything. The two times she has been at the Performance Center training, we’ve had to try to get her to back off because she will train all day and all night if we let her,” he said.
With clandestine dinners, coy interviews, and secret international travel, clearly, WWE and Rousey are committed to keeping her usage under wraps. We can’t blame them either. Rousey’s Rumble surprise shocked everyone and moments like that are what WWE is built upon.
So when she does come back, how will WWE use her? We’ll give her Royal Rumble metaphor, she’s going to be at WrestleMania, but who she’ll be fighting is a slippery discussion. Give what we saw at the Rumble she could challenge Charlotte or Alexa Bliss in New Orleans.
However, WWE may is not ready to put her under a Championship microscope and they may opt for something less demanding. There’s a rumor that she’ll be involved in a tag team match against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Even more, her possible partners include The Rock and Braun Strowman. Needless to say, this would be huge.
Right now, there’s little more than speculation concerning her return but the important thing to remember is she’s in WWE for the long haul.
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