Ronda Rousey recently shared her honest analysis of WWE’s treatment of women and compared Vince McMahon to a movie villain. Rousey first started making appearances within the WWE crowd in 2014. These appearances became more involved and in 2017 she signed with the WWE. She wasted no time and won the Raw Women’s Championship in 2018. In August 2023 she had her last match in WWE.
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In Ronda Rousey’s upcoming autobiography, Our Fight: A Memoir Hardcover, she reveals what she thinks of Triple H and her honest opinion on former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and WWE’s treatment of women in the past and during her time with WWE. She wrote in her memoir:
“NXT was founded by and under the control of Triple H, real name Paul Levesque. In addition to being my in-ring WrestleMania nemesis, he is arguably one of the best professional wrestlers in history and one of the better people on the business side. He is married to Stephanie McMahon, who is the daughter of WWE’s Emperor Palpatine, Vince McMahon. Vince took over the company from his father in the early 1980s and spent the better part of forty years playing a real-world pro-wrestling version of Monopoly, buying up and absorbing smaller promotions until he basically owned them all.
It’s hard sometimes to know where the evil, unethical, slimeball character of Vince McMahon played out for the cameras ends and the actual questionably ethical, many times sued, and multiple times accused of sexual misconduct Vince McMahon begins. That blurred line between character and reality is a recurring theme within the WWE Universe.”
Ronda Rousey via Inside The Ropes
It is hard to compare Vince McMahon to any other individual. He is responsible for making modern wrestling what it is today. He is perhaps the most important person ever in pro wrestling. However, in recent years he has had many accusations of misconduct made against him. These accusations have tarnished both his name and legacy but also that of WWE.
Ronda Rousey’s Meteoric Run in WWE
During Ronda Rousey’s time with WWE, she was pushed heavily and was one of the top women in the promotion. This allowed her to work with some of the top women in the promotion and the top individuals in the company.
Ronda Rousey was arguably the most pushed woman in WWE history. No woman has ever done as much in as short of a time as her. During her short career in WWE, she became a two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion, one-time Raw Women’s Champion, one-time Women’s Tag Team champion, and a Royal Rumble winner.
Rousey came into the WWE during a time when WWE had made huge improvements in its women’s division and how the company portrayed its women Superstars. WWE had for many years used women’s matches for men to ogle or to give the audience a time-filler for a bathroom break.
Rousey went on to detail the hypocrisy of WWE showcasing the long legacy of women’s wrestling in WWE. However, she pointed out a casting couch culture that existed within the company, calling the company to task for some of the accusations and scandals that have been made public, along with ones WWE likely swept “under the rug.” She continues in her book:
“WWE loves to do well-produced video segments about the legacy of women within the organization, but the truth is women have largely been footnotes. For the longest time, they were relegated to serving male characters in a valet role, an overly sexualized supporting character that takes cheap shots when the ref isn’t looking. Over time, as the level of female talent grew and society as a whole started to shift, the organization gradually expanded the role of female wrestlers.
WWE bills itself as a sports entertainment organization, and just like in the mainstream entertainment industry, there was, by all accounts, a casting couch culture where men backstage in powerful positions pressured female talent for sexual favors in return for airtime. There were so many public accusations and scandals it’s hard to keep track, and more that I’m sure the WWE managed to sweep under the ring.”
Ronda Rousey via Inside The Ropes
Rousey goes on to detail how WWE cared much more about a woman’s appearance than her in-ring ability. During the beloved Attitude Era, the on-air poor treatment of women Superstars was at its worst. Bra and Panty matches were common as were oil or mud wrestling matches.
When women had legitimate matches they were well-trained and experienced wrestlers versus women who were shown two moves and pushed into the ring. It was very obvious the experienced wrestler had to carry their opponent through the match.
Eventually, the perception of women’s wrestlers started to improve in WWE because of hard-working stars, such as Trish Stratus, Lita, Mickie James, and others showing the world women are just as good as men. This era of women’s wrestling became known as the Divas Era. It was only a minor step forward for women in wrestling. Rousey details in her book her thoughts on this era in women’s wrestling.
“The Divas Era with its pink rhinestone butterfly title belt dawned around the same time. Women, while now portrayed as wrestlers, were still expected to look a certain way—think lots of makeup, little clothing, and huge boobs. It would take almost another decade, years after I proved women could be a huge combat sports attraction, before women truly started to get time in the squared circle (what diehards call a pro wrestling ring).
And it was only after WWE was basically armbarred into it, following a global social media backlash to #givedivasachance after Divas were given a total of thirty seconds— less time than it takes most people to read this paragraph—for a nationally televised tag match.”
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Before signing with WWE, Ronda Rousey had a successful career in MMA and the UFC. She was a huge money draw for MMA and helped to show the world that women belong in combat sports. Her success in MMA is widely regarded as at least one of the catalysts for the Women’s Revolution in WWE and establishing the status quo for modern wrestling. Ronda Rousey was easily a shoo-in for the UFC Hall of Fame.
Ronda Rousey shared her disdain for WWE’s backstage environment of sexist and patriarchal culture. However, she has nothing but respect for the women in WWE who had to live through the poor treatment. Rousey left WWE in 2023 and it came as a bit of a shock to WWE fans, but these excerpts are rather illuminating.
While Ronda Rousey’s claims are nothing new, are you surprised she returned to WWE after having her baby? What do you think was the turning point for making what women’s wrestling is today? In 10 years do you think Rousey will be more remembered for her MMA or her WWE career? Do you think Ronda Rousey will return to WWE now that Vince McMahon is gone? What about AEW, TNA, or other promotions? Let us know on social media who you would like her to face if she does return to wrestling.
Source: Our Fight: A Memoir Hardcover, Inside The Ropes
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