Roddy Piper's Daughter On Ronda Rousey Wearing His Jacket To The Ring At The Royal Rumble
Despite stating on a recent interview that there is no WWE deal yet and she will not be in the United States due to filming in Colombia, former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey appeared at the close of the Royal Rumble pay-per-view. Rousey stared at the women's Royal Rumble winner, Asuka, as well as the current titleholders, Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss.
Noticeably, Rousey was donning a t-shirt inspired by her wrestling hero, the late "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, as well as his jacket. Following the Royal Rumble, WWE would shoot footage of Rousey doing a photo shoot and returning the jacket to Piper's son, Colt Toombs.
Piper's daughter, Ariel Teal Toombs, was interviewed by TMZ and shared her feelings of Rousey wearing her dad's jacket.
"Honestly, I feel honored," said Toombs. "It's so empowering to see a woman like Ronda, like, coming into wrestling right now. And then, on top of it, her wearing his jacket, that symbolism is very sweet. She's just so great about carrying the torch and showing her Piper pride."
Toombs was then asked if Rousey could carry the Piper legacy to the new generation of wrestling fans.
"The beauty of Ronda is that she's bringing in her own fanbase," Toombs responded. "So she has a whole lot of fans that maybe weren't even Piper fans that she'll be bringing her own element to. There'll never be another 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper. There just won't. We can all pay tribute to him and do our best, but I think that Ronda is gonna do a great job taking the talent and the fighting charisma she has, and becoming her own new thing. And I think this is just her paying tribute because dad was so much a part of her life."
You can view the full interview in the video above.
If any portion of these quotes are used, be sure to use the H/T TMZ via WrestlingINC for the transcription.