Ronda Rousey Discusses Issues With Vince McMahon During Her Last Run In WWE
Former WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey hasn't held back about Vince McMahon and the treatment of women within the company. Rousey had some very blunt opinions about WWE and McMahon in her second memoir "Our Fight," claiming the line between the former Chairman's evil on-screen character and his real-life persona was extremely blurry, before explaining why she has no intention to return to WWE in the future. During a new interview with Cageside Seats, Rousey elaborated on the issues she had with McMahon.
"Everything just being beholden to this near 80-year-old man, who has five or six episodes of 'Behind the B******s' about him, is not a very good business model." She added that while stories revolving around things like The Bloodline were planned well in advance, no one would talk to her until she got to whatever arena they were performing at that day. Rousey felt she could put on a good show with enough preparation, as shown in her debut at WrestleMania 34. Rousey also explained that a big part of her decision to leave was that she didn't want to act out fantasies for, as she calls it, "a f***ing sicko in the back."
McMahon was originally ousted from WWE in July 2022 following allegations of sexual misconduct. However, Rousey was convinced that he was still able to make decisions based on the fact that Bruce Prichard was still employed. "He was never gone while I was there. He was just phoning it in through Bruce Prichard," Rousey said. "My agent who works at WME (Endeavor), he was telling me, 'You know, he's completely gone now, I swear.' And I'm like, I'll believe it when I see it because everyone said he left before. He never left. He was there by text message."
Ronda Rousey Wishes Things Could Have Been Different
Ronda Rousey left WWE in October 2023, citing that she had retired from wrestling. Her final year with the company was while Triple H was in charge of its creative direction, and before she left, she had a long talk with "The Game" about her frustrations. "I had a long sit down with Triple H, and I was like, 'I can't be associated with mediocrity.' And that's what they seemed to be happy with at the time. And I hope that is different now, but I can't say that I've ever experienced it any other way."
Since her departure, there has been no sign of a return for Vince McMahon following the lawsuit filed by Janel Grant, who claimed that she was trafficked around the company while being an employee at WWE's headquarters. Had McMahon not been part of WWE earlier and changes were made to the women's division sooner, Rousey believes her time with the company would have been much better.
"I'm so glad that it's getting turned around," Rousey said. "Triple H has been great towards the women in the company and really believing in us. He's the whole reason that I was there, 'cause he believed in me. I really wish that my last run was under Triple H running things and Vince being gone."
The UFC Hall of Famer has briefly come out of retirement since leaving WWE, making appearances in both Wrestling Revolver and Ring of Honor to team up with her good friend Marina Shafir. However, there seems to be no sign of the "Baddest Women on the Planet" lacing up her boots for full-time again soon.
Please credit "Cageside Seats" when using quotes from this article, and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.