Ronda Rousey’s return to athletic action leads through the professional wrestling mat, but it comes with some trepidation.
After a nearly three-year hiatus, Rousey returned to WWE at the Royal Rumble last month. She entered the women’s Royal Rumble match and surprised the world.
Rousey eliminated Flair in the final two to earn a championship match, WrestleMania. Now she and former opponent Charlotte Flair are participating in a tag team match in Saudi Arabia at the WWE Elimination Chamber event.
As a new mom, Rousey’s biggest fear has changed from being knocked out to lactating through her top during a WWE match.
"You are just one of many I owe an 😮😮😮 beating to."#SmackDown @RondaRousey @MsCharlotteWWE pic.twitter.com/wCb05I1aZP
— WWE (@WWE) February 5, 2022
New Fears
In September, the 35-year-old Olympian, former UFC, and now wrestling champ gave birth to her daughter La’akea Makalapuaokalanipo Browne with her husband, Travis Browne.
“Sorry if I leak through the hoodie on my screen,” Rousey said on a recent Facebook Stream. “On the stream, which has become my new paranoia, which is that I’m going to start lactating live on television.
Ronda Rousey Makes Historic WWE Debut, Makes Stephanie McMahon Tap Out
“Like would I, well on Raw, SmackDown, or wrestling or something. That’s why like, it was pretty bold wearing the white, white shirt on Raw. Oh God, please do not lactate.”
“Well, you know I said it maybe four months ago, and I didn’t really feel comfortable enough to don my regular wrestling gear yet. But I’m working towards it. Because it’s, you know, it’s hard when being judged directly to how I looked three years ago.”
Will this be @MsCharlotteWWE's fate at #WrestleMania?!#SmackDown @RondaRousey pic.twitter.com/oufxrkPsap
— WWE (@WWE) February 5, 2022
From Judo To MMA To Wrestling
Before taking time out to start a family, Ronda competed in WrestleMania 35 against Becky Lynch and Charlotte in 2019.
However, “Rowdy” has had her share of uneasy experiences as a professional wrestler.
She proclaimed that she wouldn’t go back to the sport full-time as she felt unappreciated by the fans. Also, the fatigue associated with living on the road for the intensive WWE schedule was eroding her family life.
"The biggest match in anybody's minds in the last decade is @BeckyLynchWWE vs. @RondaRousey!"#WWERaw pic.twitter.com/cxGxzlqxW2
— WWE (@WWE) February 1, 2022
Priorities
“But, I was doing basically part-time, and I was away from home 200 days out of the year,” Rousey said according to Yahoo Sports. “And when I did get home, I was so sleep-deprived cause you just don’t have time to lay down.
“If I did all of the live shows, I was only home a day and a half a week. It was just not worth it for my family because we were eliminating all of our expenses and living this lifestyle; we didn’t need it. We didn’t need the money.”
Late last year, Ronda Rousey aimed at the WWE Universe, labeling fans “ungrateful idiots” for their jabs at her and shifting support of certain WWE stars.
When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong.@RondaRousey #SmackDown pic.twitter.com/nYnNu39feU
— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) February 5, 2022
“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey
Rousey has also been criticized in the past for an April 2020 Instagram post where she said, “anyone who is outraged by me calling pro wrestling ‘fake fights for fun’ has never been in a REAL fight.”
Rousey is the first American female to earn an Olympic medal in judo, winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Rousey was part of the UFC’s first-ever female fight at UFC 157, and she was their inaugural Women’s Bantamweight Champion.
Rousey retired from mixed martial arts in 2016 and was the first female fighter inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018.
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