Triple H Talks Criticism Of Ronda Rousey Coming To WWE, If She Would Work Full-Time
As noted, rumors continue to swirl about former UFC Champion Ronda Rousey joining WWE imminently and potentially making her debut at the Royal Rumble this Sunday. Betting sites currently have her listed with the best odds of winning Sunday's Rumble match. Wrestling Inc. President, Raj Giri, took part in a media call with Triple H on Thursday and asked if Rousey did come to the WWE, if it would be a full-time thing, or more of a short-term relationship.
"We had discussions and we've talked about a million different things," Triple H said. "The point I've shared before is kind of where we're at with sharing it, but she's interested, we're interested. We've had back and forth conversations. We're busy. She's busy. Getting to the point of being able to sit down and hammer something out has not happened yet. But the interest is clearly there."
Triple H then talked about how wrestling has been a big part of Rousey's life, that she's been training on the side to wrestle for a couple years now, and that the criticism of her taking another person's spot in WWE is unfounded.
"You know the one thing about Ronda that I can share is she has loved the pro wrestling industry since she was a kid," Triple H said. "The Roddy Piper connection is huge for her. She truly has a deep, ingrained thing for that."
"It's funny because I see people say, 'Oh, if she does sign with them that's taking the place of somebody else who's been trying to do this for years.' She's been training for this for a long time," Triple H replied. "I saw videos of her, I think, four years ago, doing this kind of on the side, when she was fighting. Still kind of doing the sports entertainment thing on the side. She's been thinking about – and been very serious about – doing this for a long period of time. So, that criticism is kind of unfounded, because, man, if she does this – when that time comes – I think she likes it to the point where it's going to be tough for her to not be all in. But we'll see when we get there. I know people think – because she's not fighting or whatever – she has a very busy schedule. So, us sitting down and doing some things is not the fastest process on the planet."
Before folding and being absorbed by the UFC, Rousey was the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Champion and was later awarded the UFC Women's Bantamweight Championship in 2012 at the UFC on Fox: Henderson vs. Diaz Press Conference. Rousey successfully defended the title six times. Currently, she holds a 12-2 MMA record, losing her last two fights against Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes.
Below are the full media call highlights with Triple H.