Yes, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey made her official WWE debut in late January at the 2018 Royal Rumble; however, while she appeared at the close of the pay-per-view, she had yet to really establish a footing within the company.
Oh, how two days can change so much. Ronda Rousey made her official WWE contract signing at the Elimination Chamber event this past Sunday with a nice little hint about what her role shall be come Wrestlemania 34. It’s clear that something will be shaping up in terms of a tag match with Triple H and Stephanie versus Ronda Rousey and most likely, Kurt Angle. Still, as great as it was to see Rousey do her thing during the Elimination Chamber signing segment, there was undoubtedly an elephant-in-the-room situation when it came to Rousey’s mic work that night.
Someone needs to immediately start to train Rousey to talk! I’m sure she can wrestle lol #Rousey #WWEChamber
— Ashley Quirl (@quirlAttack) February 26, 2018
This is awful. #WWEChamber #Rousey
— Bobby “an Braon” Heenan? (@SoccerStash) February 26, 2018
Rousey should have Heyman regardless. But everyone needs the mic skills. Every true top star has had the mic skills. Talk people into the building. The rest comes after w/ experience. https://t.co/MWimLjAv7P
— Justin LaBar (@JustinLaBar) February 26, 2018
Fast forward about 24 hours, and Ronda had her first Monday Night RAW moment in the form of an apology from Stephanie McMahon.
There was definitely a vast improvement by Rousey in this promo, versus the Elimination Chamber one the night before. Ronda was far more confident, no shaky voice, believed in what she was saying, and had the true attention of the crowd from her words, and not her persona.
Was she at the caliber of say an Alexa Bliss, Charlotte Flair, or Naomi? Not yet, but it’s day two of her new job and I’m going to give Rousey a bit of a break. She did significantly better at the talk part of this WWE role and as the days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, I truly believe she’ll only go up from here.
Which leads me to a question that has been popping up a lot on social media since Ronda’s failed Elimination Chamber promo on Sunday. Does “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey need a mouth piece … moreover, could Paul Heyman help her climb up that WWE ladder and add to her character?
There are some solid points to having Heyman by here side. She’ll learn a lot with him next her. He’d essentially become her mouth piece in promos, so she wouldn’t have to worry so much about the talk part of her job and could focus on streamlining the wrestling. The even cooler part of having Paulie with Ronda is the fact that it will solidify her as a marquee player in the women’s division. Even if Ronda continues to improve her promo work, which if last night’s RAW is any indication she most certainly will, having Heyman by her side will be another nice little milestone for the women’s wrestling division and heighten Rousey’s superstar status. I can’t think of another woman in recent years, other than Charlotte Flair, who had a male manager. In Flair’s case, her manager was her dad, so does that even really count? There seems to be a certain prestige to being a ‘Paul Heyman Guy’ … and with Rousey being the first ‘Heyman Gal’, well, that will be something that is sure to go over well. It would be huge. It would also prove that anything the men get; the women get to. Brock was given Heyman because he struggled with mic – Paul has been added to many superstars gimmicks because of this and because it works well – aligning him with Rousey would do tremendous things for not only Ronda, but the RAW women’s division.
Still, as neat as it would be to see Rousey with Heyman, in the end, I do not believe she needs him by her side. I think the Elimination Chamber shakiness on Ronda’s part on Sunday was just first-timer nerves. She’s wanted this for a very long time and sometimes passion to do well can back fire for any performer. While there are similarities between the WWE and UFC, the squared circle is far more different than what Rousey has been accustom to in the past. She needs to continue to get her feet wet when it comes to working a live a crowd, and simply believe in herself and her words.
In the long run, I think Ronda Rousey will do just fine in the WWE, whether she has Paul Heyman by her side, or she flies solo.
