Ronda Rousey Gets Emotional Talking About Kurt Angle's Mentorship (Video)

On the latest episode of her YouTube vlog Ronda on the Road, Ronda Rousey chronicled her journey to WrestleMania 38, including the SmackDown promo where she revealed that she added the Ankle Lock to her repertoire as a way to pay homage to WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle.

"I just really want to be able to put over Kurt as the whole reason I'm doing the ankle lock," Rousey said. "That's a way to pay homage to him. That's all I really care about getting out, because he was my first mentor in this business, and I've never really got to honor him outside of our tag [match at WrestleMania 34].

"People compare us all the time because we were athletes outside of WWE and then came to it. As an Olympian, he has been like my hero since I was a little kid, so I love that he gave me the blessing to use the ankle lock."

Rousey then recalled battling "What?" chants from the crowd during the promo, describing how she tried to push through the words until she could mention her mentor's name.

"Everyone was like, 'Your rhythm seemed off, what were you worried about?'" Rousey recalled. " And I was like if Brock [Lesnar] who is the most over face in the company right now is getting the 'What?' chants, they're gonna 'What?' the f–k out of me.

"So I just wanted to blow through it [the promo] to the point where the first break in when I was talking was after I mentioned Kurt because if you 'What?' Kurt, then you're an a–hole."

Earlier in the video, Ronda admitted she gets more nervous for promos than matches.

"I get more nervous for promos than matches because I have to nail it on the first go," Rousey said. "I've always been a person that communicates better physically than verbally, but I think I got it. They let me say what I want to say, then I got it."

Ronda Rousey will face SmackDown Women's Champon Charlotte Flair in an I Quit Match at the upcoming WrestleMania Backlash premium live event. You can watch her latest vlog below.