Creative Issues Impacted Shayna Baszler-Ronda Rousey SummerSlam Match

The Shayna Baszler-Ronda Rousey match at SummerSlam led to some creative issues within WWE for multiple reasons.

In the grudge match between Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey at SummerSlam, it was essentially Rousey’s WWE farewell…for now. Baszler won with the Kirifuda Clutch while Rousey tapped out without passing out in the submission.

Earlier in the week, Dave Meltzer spoke about how there were some creative issues in terms of the structure of the MMA Rules Match between Baszler & Rousey, which is not a match stipulation that WWE does very often.

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote more about the problems involving that match, which many fans viewed as the worst match on the SummerSlam card.

“The match didn’t connect with the audience and we were told that creative was blamed for not doing their ideas and creative blamed them for doing only their ideas, so it was one of those stories where nobody really got what they wanted in the match.”

“They beat the hell out of each other to an audience there to see pro wrestling, so ultimately that style of a stiff realistic fight is not what a WWE stadium sized audience wants and it’s a lesson. This same match may have torn down the house at Bloodsport in front of a few hundred, but that’s not this audience.”

“Baszler ended up taking a horrible beating in trying to pull off what they were trying to accomplish. She ended up with a black eye that was swollen, bruised and almost shut, and a broken right thumb from likely throwing stiff shots, and other assorted injuries, but still worked Raw two days later but looked physically like she had just gotten out of a mugging and wasn’t moving all that well.”

Shayna Baszler Competes On Raw Despite Injuries

As noted above, Baszler was injured during the match with Rousey at SummerSlam. Two days later on WWE Raw in Minnesota, Shayna Baszler still had a match with Zoey Stark. Baszler had padding on her arm, she had protection on her thumb and had a visible black eye. Despite all that, Baszler still won by using Rousey’s Piper’s Pit slam.