WWE News: Ronda Rousey Signs Full-Time Deal – “This is my life now”
After making her on-screen debut at the WWE Royal Rumble after the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble won by Asuka, it was confirmed by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that Ronda Rousey has signed a full-time contract with WWE.
UFC's Ronda Rousey has signed a full-time contract with WWE, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. pic.twitter.com/ZeGZeSnwHZ
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 29, 2018
Ronda Rousey isn't doing a one shot deal with the WWE. She's signed a full time contract with the organisation.
"This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt."https://t.co/ilq89fTgZT— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) January 29, 2018
ESPN aired an interview with Rousey and you can watch two clips below.
As seen after Asuka won the main event Women’s Royal Rumble Match tonight and was joined in the ring by Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss & SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Ronda Rousey officially made her WWE debut appearance by crashing the party.
BREAKING NEWS: Former @ufc Women's Bantamweight Champion @RondaRousey makes her presence felt following Women's #RoyalRumble Match! https://t.co/LIvlJKZ2kp
— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2018
EXCLUSIVE: @RondaRousey offers her candid thoughts just moments after shocking the @WWEUniverse at @WWE#RoyalRumble! pic.twitter.com/Ho3HOS8jo9
— WWE (@WWE) January 29, 2018
The @WWE Women’s division is where EVERY woman in sports and entertainment wants to be. Congratulations to every woman in the #RoyalRumble Match and @WWEAsuka for her victory. And as for @RondaRousey…. #ToBeTheWoman
— Charlotte Flair (@MsCharlotteWWE) January 29, 2018
Just as her appearance was closing out and before the pay-per-view event was going off the air, the news was officially confirmed via social media shortly after some eagle-eyed viewers on social media noticed Ramona Shelburne, who frequently covers Rousey, in attendance during the closing minutes of the Women’s Royal Rumble Match.
@bryanalvarez ESPN Reporter Ramona Shelburne who covers Rousey is sitting in the front row.
— Facough (@mrfacough) January 29, 2018
Worth noting: ESPN super reporter @ramonashelburne is sitting ringside. Just noticed her. She has written many a story on Rousey. Sitting next to a WWE exec.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 29, 2018
Tommy’s Thoughts: The inevitable happened. Already a divisive debut that has the drawing power vs. earning your spotargumentss in full gear, you can’t argue that the Road to WrestleMania has been kickstarted in major fashion, even if you’re less-than-thrilled about her debut like I am.
At the very least, it’ll be an interesting step forward from when Brock Lesnar crossed over to UFC and returned with arguably more drawing power: this time being one of the first chances WWE has had to test the cross-over interest from a proven draw outside of the wrestling world who is actually giving them a full-time commitment.
Good luck, Ronda. I hope to be proven wrong. ?