Ronda Rousey On Why Her WWE Goals Don't Involve Championships
It's been almost exactly one year since Ronda Rousey made her WWE debut as an employee of the promotion rather than a fan. Since that 2018 Royal Rumble, she has yet to lose a singles match and is the reigning Raw Women's Champion.
But everyone knows that before WWE, Rousey was a mixed martial artist in UFC. However, many are aware that Rousey participated in another sport even before MMA and she talked about being an Olympic judoka on Kevin Hart's Cold As Balls show.
"I won the Pan-American Games at 16 years old and then I won the Olympic trials," Rousey said of her early judo career. "Then that August was my first Olympics (2004) and I got screwed over. It was the referees, it wasn't the girl's fault. I'm still mad about it, but it's okay."
Rousey then explained the judo scoring in that if you throw your opponent on their back, then you win.
"I threw the girl flat on her back and then the referee and the two judges pretended like it didn't happen," stated Rousey who then explained why she was robbed. "I was a completely unknown person from a country that wasn't very good at judo and I had no business being there and beating that person."
After retiring from judo following the 2008 Olympics, Rousey then went into MMA, although her mother clearly wasn't a fan of the decision.
"I told my mom and she said 'This is the stupidest f—ing idea I've ever heard in all my life.' I told her just give me a year before you disown me. Give me a year to make this work," said Rousey.
Rousey also told her mom that the Coast Guard had made her an offer to be a rescue swimmer and if MMA didn't work out after one year, then she would take up their offer.
After a second straight loss in 2016, Rousey gave up MMA and shifted her focus on pro wrestling. She said her initial wrestling goals weren't to be a champion, but rather to leave a mark in the industry.
"The goal is not to be champion," Rousey told Hart when he asked what her goals are. "Roddy Piper's son told me that belts don't matter and it's about stories and storytelling. I really want the WWE and women's division to be better off because I was there. I wanna be a catalyst and push everything forward and I want people to thank me for being there."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Cold as Balls with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.