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Ronda Rousey On WWE: “Men Backstage Pressured Female Talent For S*xual Favors”

By Ahmed Hamdy • Published Mar 15, 2026 22:12 EDT
Ex-WWE Star Ronda Rousey - Source: WWE.com
Ex-WWE Star Ronda Rousey - Source: WWE.com

Ronda Rousey made shocking claims about WWE ahead of her AEW debut.

The UFC Hall of Famer officially joined the Stamford-based company in 2018 after making multiple sporadic appearances in earlier years. The Rowdy One had a one-year run, during which she held the RAW Women’s Title, before going on hiatus to have her first child.

After returning to win the Women’s Royal Rumble in 2022, Rousey had two runs as SmackDown Women’s Champion and one reign as Women’s Tag Team Champion, alongside Shayna Baszler. However, she left WWE in 2023.

In her book, “Our Fight,” Rousey made huge claims about the backstage culture in WWE before she joined the company. She accused men in powerful positions of pressuring female talent for s*xual favors in exchange for airtime.

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 s*xualized 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 s*xual 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 Debuted At AEW Revolution

Following her WWE departure, Ronda Rousey competed in a few matches alongside her best friend Marina Shafir before stepping away from professional wrestling.

While the former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion had previously stated that she was “practically retired” from wrestling, she made a shocking return tonight at AEW Revolution following Toni Storm’s victory over Shafir.

Rousey called out Storm, who returned to the ring to confront the UFC Hall of Famer. The two, however, were separated by match officials, allowing Shafir to knockout Storm before leaving with her best friend.

Also read: Ex-WWE Star Ronda Rousey’s Close Friend: “I Have Gotten Really Hard N*pples For Her”

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