Ronda Rousey has officially entered WWE, in dramatic style
- Published
The former UFC champ signed her contract in a televised event - before taking on Triple H
Former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey officially joined WWE on Sunday night, when she signed her contract in a televised event.
Rousey has said, external that joining WWE is a childhood dream, and that this is not a publicity stunt. However, she hasn't officially ruled out a return to UFC either, or even officially mentioned the word retirement.
There is precedent for competing in both organisations at the same time. Former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar fought at UFC 200 in 2016 and still remained as one of WWE's top stars during that time.
During her UFC career, Rousey, also a former Olympic bronze medallist in judo, appeared at WWE events, including, notably, Wrestlemania 31 in 2015.
She confirmed that she would be joining WWE when she turned up at WWE’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view event in Philadelphia in January.
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Rousey’s dominant hold on the UFC world championship came to an end when she was knocked out by Holly Holm at UFC 193 in Melbourne.
She then returned to the octagon at UFC 207, but was stopped in 48 seconds by champion Amanda Nunes.
On Sunday, she paid tribute last night to the late Roddy Piper, a Canadian professional wrestler who had given Rousey blessing to use his 'Rowdy' nickname.
And, this being WWE, Sunday's contract signing wasn't without drama or controversy: Rowdy Ronda threw Triple H - who is married to the daughter of WWE boss Vince McMahon - through a table before signing on the dotted line. Where else would you see that, hey?
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Welcome to WWE. Start as you mean to go on, Ronda.
This article was originally published on 26 Feb 2018
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