Ronda Rousey left WWE after her match with Shayna Baszler at last year’s SummerSlam. Since then, she has openly shared her negative experiences with the company and recently discussed the possibility of returning.
Earlier this year, Rousey voiced her frustrations with WWE, criticizing Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard and John Laurinaitis harshly and accusing the company of discrimination against women, among other issues.
In an interview with WrestleZone, Rousey was asked about the likelihood of returning to pro wrestling, specifically WWE. She reflected on her WWE tenure, saying that while it’s nice that people are still interested in her wrestling future, her last experience with the company, especially under McMahon, Prichard, and Laurinaitis, was largely negative. Although many of those involved are no longer with WWE, Prichard remains, making her less enthusiastic about returning than she was before.
Rousey noted that despite enjoying many matches and live shows, her dominant memories are of the stress and anxiety from the unpredictable scheduling, lack of preparation time, and frequent cuts to her segments. This stressful environment pushed her toward screenwriting and novel drafting as an escape.
While she acknowledges that current talent has reported improvements in the working conditions, her past negative experiences make it challenging for her to feel the same excitement about a potential return.
Here’s what the UFC Hall of Famer said:
“I mean, yeah, I feel like that’s a good thing. I guess it means that I missed it if people are still asking if I’m going to be fighting or wrestling. My last run with Vince, Bruce Prichard, and John Laurinaitis was such a negative experience. Most of them are gone now, but Bruce is still around.
I’m not overly excited to come back like I was the last time. Even though I had many matches that I enjoyed and had a great time, when I look back, I don’t really think of the joy I had in those matches.
I mostly remember the anxiety of never knowing what was going on until the very last minute, not being allowed to prepare, and having our time cut repeatedly. The experience was so needlessly stressful, which is why I focused so much on screenwriting and drafting novels as a refuge.
I know things are a lot different now; I’ve heard from the girls that it’s much better. But it’s hard to shake that past experience and be excited to come back like I was before.”
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