Ronda Rousey Proves Perception Of WWE

Since her official debut at the Royal Rumble, most people would say Ronda Rousey has been must-see TV. Some disagree, arguing she has been booked in typical special attraction fashion, a luxury that anyone could benefit from.

Despite NXT call-ups worthy of championship matches, seasoned veterans who have gotten lost in the shuffle, or anyone else who works the full schedule of TV tapings and house shows, its Ronda Rousey getting a high-profile championship match against Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam. Although WWE is trying to promote a women’s revolution, the Rousey treatment could spell trouble for what should be a thriving division.

Now no one is saying that Rousey doesn’t have any business in WWE – she can try whatever she wants, more power to her. The point of controversy is her booking. She has had five pay-per-view appearances this year: her debut at the Rumble overshadowing Asuka’s victory in the first Women’s Royal Rumble, the contract signing at Elimination Chamber, her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34, challenging for the Raw Women’s Championship in only her second match at Money in the Bank, and then being the focal point of Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss at Extreme Rules.

With a second title shot scheduled for SummerSlam, the UFC Hall of Famer has become the most privileged member of the company not named McMahon. As a result of this hyper focus on Rousey, the Raw women’s roster has suffered. Sasha Banks is entering pre-show territory due to no commitment in what direction the creative team wants to go in with her rivalry with Bayley. Ember Moon isn’t even on the PPVs. The Riot Squad has had no direction besides wrecking shit backstage. Sonya Deville and Dana Brooke have both been buried by Rousey in an effort to show her invincibility. With three hours every week, there should be plenty of time to showcase other women on the roster. Unfortunately, the time is devoted toward building a far more established name than anyone in pro wrestling.

Another point of controversy is although Rousey was catapulted to Raw, a fellow MMA-background competitor has been relegated to NXT. Shayna Baszler has proven herself to be a great in-ring performer as evidenced by the Mae Young Classic and NXT Takeovers. However, because she doesn’t have the same worldwide recognition as Rousey, she hasn’t experienced a similar push. With the brand split, you would expect that Baszler would be positioned on Smackdown, merely skipping NXT like Rousey did. Sadly, that was not the case.

Rousey’s booking is awfully similar to that of WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, and if the crowd’s vitriol from this past Monday is any indication, that doesn’t bode well for her career.

If you compare Rousey’s booking with Lesnar’s current run with the company, the suspension angle from 2015 has already been copy and pasted. So have the various rampages. She has even been protected from taking a loss due to a cash-in, similar to Lesnar at WrestleMania 31. The most notable similarity is their scheduling. Rousey makes very limited appearances on Raw and house shows. And unless she’s in a high-profile match or angle, you won’t find her on PPV.

When it comes to WWE, no matter how many actual homegrown stars come out of the performance center or how often it’s stressed that it’s a land of opportunity, all that matters is how mainstream you are. Your talent, commitment and passion don’t matter.

All that Rousey proves is if you have a big name, expect special handling compared to others that are already proven within WWE.