Ronda Rousey Makes Her WWE Return at ‘Royal Rumble’

It was the UFC Hall of Famer’s first appearance since 2019.

The Baddest Woman on the Planet is back in WWE.

Ronda Rousey made her return to professional wrestling at the Royal Rumble on Saturday night, winning the women’s Royal Rumble match. The UFC Hall of Famer and former Raw women’s champion entered the match at number 28 and last eliminated Charlotte Flair to get the win.

The final four in the match were Rousey, Flair, Bianca Belair and Shayna Baszler.

As the Royal Rumble winner, Rousey will challenge for either the Raw or SmackDown women’s championship at WrestleMania 38.

Flair is the current SmackDown women’s champion. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has reported that the plan is for Rousey to challenge Flair at WrestleMania, which is a two-night event that’s taking place on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3.

Meltzer reports that Rousey is back in WWE for a substantial run and will be on the SmackDown brand, though she may also make appearances on Raw. That run will be in excess of one year and is also slated to include Rousey wrestling at WrestleMania 39 in 2023.

Saturday’s Royal Rumble was Rousey’s first appearance for WWE since 2019. She headlined WrestleMania 35 that year, facing Becky Lynch and Flair in a triple threat match. It was the first-ever women’s match to main event a WrestleMania.

Having a child was a goal of Rousey’s when she took her hiatus from WWE in 2019. Rousey and her husband, former UFC fighter Travis Browne, welcomed the birth of their daughter La’akea Makalapuaokalanipō Browne last September.

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