Ronda Rousey (does not have the ability to go back in time)

[enviousdominous]

Opinion up front; Ronda Rousey was rushed to tv way before she was ready.

I love Ronda, you love Ronda, we all love Ronda. Our love isn't going very far to enhance Ronda's social skills, and subsequently her ability to sell a match via mic work.

Ronda obviously has feelings, I felt for her when she did the interview on Ellen. It would be great if she could have been put through a year of acting school so she could turn that type of drama on and off at will.

She's being put on TV as her waving smiling self, and then random things happen to her. The most I've seen of her in terms of what she actually wants out of her career with the WWE is when she pointed at the WrestleMania sign, she obviously wants to hang that WrestleMania sign in her living room. She didn't take too kindly to being made fun of by Stephanie, so she chokeslammed HHH through a table. She beat up Absolution because they kept carelessly wandering into her danger radius.

I get it, Ronda is one of the most popular female athletes in history and to the powers that be having her name on the card supersedes any logic toward putting it there on behalf of a creative purpose.

I don't not like Ronda, but she's turning into a very silly person before our eyes. As the WWE tries to market her presence, they're giving her too many opportunities to embarrass herself and thereby embarrass the business.

Ronda seems to be intent on not burning any bridges, which is my best theory as to why she's been having some balls-out awkward exchanges in interviews lately. I'm not saying that I think that she intends to return to MMA, I think that she intends to rebuff questions concerning MMA in what I imagine is a bizarre and unfounded assumption that she has to rebuff the questions. Ronda herself said in an interview with Ellen that returning to MMA would be just as likely as if she was going to return to being an Olympian, which indicates to me that she can freely discuss the potential of an MMA return.

So..... yesterday a few interviews were released (or escaped more like) where Ronda was prompted to elaborate on whether or not she considered it possible that she would return to MMA, and she was prompted to explain her opinion in regard to why fans of hers abandoned her after she had lost to Holly Holm.

For your situational awareness:

[youtube]0AXdLdORaRI[/youtube]

Now, I wasn't blowing smoke when I said that I love Ronda. She's had great interviews in the past, so I don't want to go wondering out loud if she might have Asperger's. Going back to my original point, I think that Ronda is dealing with something and that being put on the spot to become as big a presence in prowrestling as she was in MMA is not the best thing for her right now. Again; I think that the WWE carelessly debuted Ronda way before she was ready for the spotlight.

Am I off the mark here? I don't think I've ever wanted to be proven wrong more than I do now.

 

[Really?]

The way the question was phrased was goofy. Obviously, Golic meant that with time, or in due time, that Ronda could go back to MMA, not that she could go back in time. Yes, she came off looking stupid, but had they been face to face, in the same room, I think that Golic would have rephrased the question to make it clear.

 

[Macho Mans Beard]

Talking has never been Rondas strong point. She pretty much just went out and kicked someones ass and then cut a small promo after the fight and that was it. And most of her promos prefight were her just talking to the camera. She didnt really have a audience.

Which could be her problem: she isnt good at public speaking.

It takes a special person to be able to be put in front of a crowd and put on a true promo. Which is why her pointing at the sign meant so much. Because it sent a message without words. When she started doing promo work with Angle, HHH and Steph you almost get a sense that she is VERY uncomfortable talking in front of not only a crowd in an arena but millions watching at home.

It should be up to WWE once Wrestlemania is over to find Ronda a mouthpiece. In fact I would love for Ronda to be paired with Heyman. Not necessarily as a heel, but basically to fill the void. This is what WWE did for Lesnar. Because Lesnar cant talk his way out of a paper bag to a live crowd. Plus he has such a baby voice for someone so intimidating. Ronda can hugely benefit from having someone talk about her and just have her kick peoples asses to sell herself.

And if it isnt Heyman then it needs to be someone who can get the fans behind Ronda during promos. Because if the WWE is wanting the marque match with Ronda and Asuka at Summer Slam, then they need to do something very quickly. Otherwise she will be lost in the fray.

As for her in ring ability, I have no doubts she will be ready. And she will get better once she starts to truly develop over time.

 

[Kamala316]

Call it what it is: Stephanie McMahon is using Ronda Rousey as a sacrificial lamb so she can get herself more mainstream exposure. This match is all about Stephanie making sure she is seen alongside Ronda in her debut match. Think about that horrific armbar at WrestleMania 31. Stephanie made sure that she hit all four sides of the ring, albeit while looking absolutely ridiculous, so that she could get her photo op. She could care less if Ronda is out of place, botches, etc. As long as Stephanie gets her WrestleMania moment, that's all that matters. I wouldn't even be surprised if Ronda makes HHH tap out to an armbar because Stephanie won't "do the honors" for a "new/upcoming talent". Even though HHH has done his fair share of burials/playing politics along the way, at least other people have gone 'over' him.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

The reality is that Ronda isn't going to have this character for long... they WILL find her some kind of manager and while Heyman seems the best choice once Brock departs, there are other options for her out there.

Ronda is being nice because she's the "new girl" and her gimmick will no doubt change once they and she are confident in her abilities to sell that bad-ass persona in the ring. It does amaze me that people seem to judge her differently to any other celebrity who showed up at Mania over the years like LT, Mayweather, Tyson or Mr. T.

None of them were any good, they were all wooden at selling their match and needed putting with superior talents. The only difference is Ronda has nailed her colors to the mast in saying "This is me from now on"... so whatever state she is in during her first match/build... it can only improve and the plan is for it to do just that OVER TIME...

Our love doesn't help her social skills? WTF does that even mean? She is a rookie, out there for her first match at the biggest (yet one of the most lacklustre) shows of the year where her star power is a major selling point. Eyes are on her, she knows it, she's going to be nervous as she may well NOT be ready yet.. that's part of her story but she's working that match with Hunter and Kurt (unless Rocky shows up to replace him) who both will be invaluable to her.

Put this in perspective... can you name any celeb wrestler at Mania who as actually come in and done BETTER than she's done so far? In the ring AND on the mic... No Rock doesn't count...

 

[FromGlasgow]

Its difficult to tell if she was being sarcastic about the time traveling question or was genuinly confused as it was obvious what the interviewer meant, Personally I think she's ready and I for one are looking forward to seeing her match, I imagine she's had a lot more preperation than other celebrities who wrestled at wrestlemania, Also the WWE are likely paying her good money so why hold back on her, A tag team match is a perfect way to showcase her first match as well as hide any flaws she may have by having the ability to tag out at any time.

 

[Greg4WWE]

She's doing what Mike Tyson should have done after losing it in the ring. Moving on.

 

[Dragonslayer]

I think the challenge Ronda faces is here is twofold. One has been very apparent from the get-go, which is her mic skills (or lack thereof). So yeah, she has been in a movie or two, however the only one I remember off the top of my head is the Expendables one, and that was an ensemble piece, and an action movie to boot, so there was not really that much acting required from her. To be honest, I've not seen any of the other movies she was in so I can't tell.

However, it's naturally a whole different beast to be out there in front of a live crowd if you're not used to that, and to get your lines out properly as well as maintaining your gimmick/persona. That's definitely one aspect she needs to work on, and a few classes of acting school should do her some good. But then again, she's not the only one having a hard time on the mic, just remember the awkwardness that was Roman Reigns right about the time they first started to push him heavily into the main event. He might still not be the next Rock in terms of promo ability, but at least he's not cringe-level bad anymore. I think once Ronda gets more comfortable with this, that should get easier. For the time being, I would just turn her heel and be the female Brock Lesnar, with Paul Heyman as her mouthpiece. That would be magic.

Secondly, her in-ring skills are still way off. You could see it in the most recent exchanges where her timing was just not there at all, which is natural if you've never done this type of sport before. I think in Ronda's case it's especially difficult, for while she undoubtedly is a badass athelete, all her life she's basically been trained to HURT other people, and hurt them bad in order to win. Now, wrestling is the entire opposite. You are trained to actually protect other people, while making it look like you're hurting them. And with her years and years of training in actual combat, I get the impression she feels she needs to particularly hold back so as not to hurt anyone.

So while she is an experienced sportswoman and fighter in her own right, she is still pretty "green" when it comes to wrestling. Here, a few (or more than a few) training sessions at the WWE training center would also help her greatly. At Mania she will be protected by Triple H and Angle carrying most of the ring work I suppose, and she will get two or three big spots dealing some big moves to steph and also Triple H (Angle Slam on Trips by Ronda, anyone?). But for her future, she will need to up her game both in the ring and on the mic, as otherwise the celebrity factor of her being in WWE will wear of rather quickly.

 

[BigDaddyKewl]

I hope Ronda does have a successful run in WWE and this doesn't end up being a bust. But I do have my doubts, she has been out of the spotlight for almost two years since her last loss. I'm not sure if they are going to draw a lot of MMA fans when they sign a big name like Rosey because it's still fake wrestling and not real fighting like UFC.
As others have mentioned she's not the greatest talker, actress or interviewer. But at the same time she's put in a tough spot when they have her debut in a major program with veterans like Angle, HHH and Steph. I wouldn't throw her under the bus yet and we need to see how things play out. Rosey could be very valuable to WWE and hope fully this benefits all parties. It'll be great exposure for any of the other women in wwe who eventually work with Rosey like Nia Charlotte, Asuka, Alexa etc.

 

[HORRORHOLIC]

I would absolutely love to see her with Heyman. If WWE wants to have a 1st Woman's Wrestlemania main event I think Heyman could really help build it. I mean it could be Ronda vs Asuka next year, Heyman with basically the female version of Lesnar chasing yet another huge streak. The story writes itself!!

 

[neildittmar]

I think there have been several critical mistakes with "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey's introduction into the WWE Universe thus far...

1. Emphasizing what Rousey isn't... namely, the faux Roddy Piper gimmick. Yes, I fully understand that she has the Piper family's blessing to adopt it as her own, to wear the jacket, to fashion her merchandise logo in a similar manner, etc. However, Roddy was a huge personality, a great talker, and had the ability to single-handedly get the audience interested in whatever program Piper was a part of... even if they might not have cared otherwise. When I look at Ronda, I just don't see those same attributes... and that's ok. Which leads me to:

2. Not emphasizing what Rousey is or perhaps more appropriately, what she could be. WWE consistently refers to Ronda as the baddest woman on the planet. She carries a similar pedigree to Brock Lesnar in that she is a legitimate fighter who has competed in real fights in a sport where people really get hurt and really win and lose. That automatically puts her on a higher level of credibility than nearly ever other female athlete in the locker room. Therefore, to see Ronda waving, smiling, socializing, et. al. is a distraction at best and could be downright damaging to her character at worst. Ronda should be booked as nothing less than a killer. When her music hits (Joan Jett's Bad Reputation is probably still fine) talking should stop, jaws should drop, and the audience should know that someone probably isn't walking out of the ring on their own volition by the time Rousey is done. For Ronda to be successful post-Mania, the "mood" of her character needs to change... dramatically.

3. Hot-shotted into a type of feud on the biggest show of the year that she's clearly not ready for. I understand the need to make Rousey's debut "special" and putting her in there with other stars (sans Stephanie of course) is not a bad move in and of itself. However, I think WWE would've had a better shot doing a "big fight feel" singles match with Rousey if they absolutely insisted on putting her in the ring at this years WrestleMania. Post Royal Rumble and before the mixed tag match started coming together, I speculated that Sonya Deville of Absolution would've been a solid opponent for Rousey at Mania. She has the look and athleticism of a fighter similar to what Rousey is likely used to, giving Ronda a familiar environment to work with. Including Deville in the match would get Absolution on the WM card in a big way, potentially giving Mandy Rose (and to a lesser extent Paige) active roles via distraction, outright interference, etc. The match could tell a good story about Rousey "beating the odds" in her first WWE match, and Sonya could take an L against Rousey without too much damage to her own character or Absolution's aura.

Honestly though? A year or so in the WWE Performance Center under the tutelage of the best minds they have over there would've likely been the better bet, with a proper debut at next year's WrestleMania.

While Rousey doesn't have the ability to go back in time regarding her UFC career, WWE will not have the ability to un-pull the trigger if (when?) Ronda's debut at Mania explodes into a mess of fantastic proportions. Despite HHH and Angle likely to do most of the heavy lifting in the match, I have a sneaking suspicion that my fairly low expectations for Rousey's debut will still likely not be met, let alone exceeded.

 

[Kodo Sawaki]

Put this in perspective... can you name any celeb wrestler at Mania who as actually come in and done BETTER than she's done so far? In the ring AND on the mic... No Rock doesn't count...

Not Wretslemania but

[youtube]vrqIeX6sc7g[/youtube]

But hey, Amell is a highly successful actor in a popular TV show that does his own stunts. He is almost cut to be in WWE and his transition would be smoother then Ronda.

And Ronda is doing just fine. Little awkward but she will get it in time.

 

[enviousdominous]

I did some thinking last night, and I wonder if Vince is fucking with us.

At heart, I'm a conspiracy theorist, and I thought back to an old interview that was eerily similar to this recent wave of awkward Ronda interviews where her demeanor suggests that she's very frustrated to be there.

This is what happened when David Letterman Struggled to get Mr. T to open up prior to WrestleMania:

[youtube]UxbAPGRyGAM[/youtube]

 

[d_henderson1810]

Talking has never been Rondas strong point. She pretty much just went out and kicked someones ass and then cut a small promo after the fight and that was it. And most of her promos prefight were her just talking to the camera. She didnt really have a audience.

Which could be her problem: she isnt good at public speaking.

It takes a special person to be able to be put in front of a crowd and put on a true promo. Which is why her pointing at the sign meant so much. Because it sent a message without words. When she started doing promo work with Angle, HHH and Steph you almost get a sense that she is VERY uncomfortable talking in front of not only a crowd in an arena but millions watching at home.

It should be up to WWE once Wrestlemania is over to find Ronda a mouthpiece. In fact I would love for Ronda to be paired with Heyman. Not necessarily as a heel, but basically to fill the void. This is what WWE did for Lesnar. Because Lesnar cant talk his way out of a paper bag to a live crowd. Plus he has such a baby voice for someone so intimidating. Ronda can hugely benefit from having someone talk about her and just have her kick peoples asses to sell herself.

And if it isnt Heyman then it needs to be someone who can get the fans behind Ronda during promos. Because if the WWE is wanting the marque match with Ronda and Asuka at Summer Slam, then they need to do something very quickly. Otherwise she will be lost in the fray.

As for her in ring ability, I have no doubts she will be ready. And she will get better once she starts to truly develop over time.

If this person was alive, he would have been the perfect mouthpiece for Ronda, since he was famous for cutting promos and was inspirational in getting Ronda into wrestling and inspired her nickname.

"ROWDY" RODDY PIPER!

It can't happen, but how cool would that have been.

 

[enviousdominous]

Our love doesn't help her social skills? WTF does that even mean?

I'm of the opinion that the WWE didn't think any farther than "OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! WE GOT RONDA ROUSEY!" The reasons for which she earned her fame in the UFC are apparently not translating well to establishing herself as a prowrestler.

The WWE seems to be relying on our love for her to overshadow her glaring inability to say anything in a convincing manner on the microphone. I recall that the WWE didn't replay video of Ronda saying "I want you" to Stephanie in a vignette meant to summarize the reasoning for the match at WrestleMania, they just played a sound bite of Ronda saying "I want you".

Some superstars aren't good on the microphone, and do just fine staying off the microphone. I think we can all agree that Ronda needs to stay off the microphone for a while. Preparation goes hand in hand with presentation, and our love isn't enough to prepare Ronda for her big match.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

She's doing just fine for someone that's about as green as it's possible to be. I think some of us are expecting VASTLY too much out of her at this point. I didn't expect her to be able to toss off one liners like the Rock, tell a story like Miz or deliver a sermon like John Cena just as I don't expect her to be some combination of Charlotte Flair and Asuka inside the ring. Maybe it'll be determined that she'll need a manager/mouthpiece/advocate or whatever at some point but that gal's still very much finding herself so it's not at all unreasonable that she actually be given time for that.

WWE knows what her limits are, what she's good at and what she isn't, where she needs work and where she excels. Is she on TV too soon? Not at all, at least not when you consider what her first match is going to be. The mixed tag team match is meant to be a spectacle with the draw being the novelty of it being Ronda Rousey's professional in-ring debut and seeing her beat up Stephanie McMahon, and probably landing a shot or two on Triple H. This isn't going to be some classic, it's not an epic clash between titans of the ring, it's designed to be a crowd pleaser and that's just fine.

After WrestleMania, she'll probably pop up on the post WrestleMania Raw and do some sort of follow up, or at least make an appearance, then she'll disappear for a good long while so she can fully concentrate on training. She's still training right now, of course, but she's also doing a lot of interviews and appearances to help hype WrestleMania; she's helping to sell the show right now and once the show is over, all her focus will be back in the PC center. As a result, we may see her back for SummerSlam, though Survivor Series might be better.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

That was awesome! She comes off as so likeable. She is busting the balls of the talking sports heads. Sports reporters ask such stupid questions, I love seeing her be a difficult wise ass. Golic, who I like, asks his question in such a stupid way and Kellerman asks a filabuster type question that feels completely outdated.

I hope I'm right about this and Rousey really does have some wit. It comes in pretty handy in sports entertainment.