After social media was stunned by Ronda Rousey‘s WWE debut at the Royal Rumble, the 30-year-old shocked her followers again with an Instagram post announcing that her road to Wrestlemania “begins now.”
“My road to #wrestlemania begins now,” she wrote beneath a photo of herself with a focused look in her eye while pointing upward at the WrestleMania 34 sign.
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The pic comes after Rousey reportedly signed a full-time contract with WWE, according to ESPN. Reporter Ramona Shelburne reported moments after Rousey’s debut at the Royal Rumble that the fighter inked a deal.
The Royal Rumble closed out with Asuka, the winner of the company’s first Women’s Royal Rumble match, standing in-between SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair and Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. Then Rousey, coming out to “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett just like from her UFC days, made her way down to the ring. In front of all three women, she looked up and pointed towards the WrestleMania 34 sign.
“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 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.’”
Rousey has been a lifelong wrestling fan, and made her first appearance with the WWE back at WrestleMania 31, where she aligned herself with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to lay out Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Rumors of her being an active participant in the company have been swirling ever since.
“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 told ESPN. “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.”
While details aren’t clear yet if Rousey will have a match prior to WrestleMania 34, or if she’ll be an active wrestler on one of the two show’s roster each week, fans will likely learn more about the situation on Monday’s edition of Monday Night Raw.
Rousey is also still juggling her acting career; she’s currently filming Mile 22 with Mark Wahlberg and The Walking Dead actress Linda Cohan. The filming was taking place in Colombia, and Rousey made it a point to appear on social media that she was still out of the United States the day before the Rumble.
