Ronda Rousey’s transition from UFC to WWE has been successful in maintaining her spot as a dominant athlete, while jumping right toward the top of the card with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
While she hasn’t had to do too much mic work while signing her contract at Elimination Chamber and during last week’s Monday Night Raw, she’s going to have to hold her own in the weeks leading up to WrestleMania.
She’s had some shaky moments, but Monday night provided some awkwardness when Rousey may or may not have jumped the gun in naming her ‘Mania opponent — Stephanie McMahon:
ESPN’s Arash Markazi shared a bit from a recent story after Rousey’s promo with some advice from current Raw Women’s champion Alexa Bliss to the new WWE superstar:
Ronda Rousey has been getting a ton of grief about her inability to work the mic and deliver a good promo. I talked to Alexa Bliss about this. It’s not as easy as it looks and may be Rousey’s toughest obstacle in her transition from UFC to WWE. https://t.co/KTQ4GUdXYS pic.twitter.com/KJId9mbAL5
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) March 6, 2018
“It took me forever to get comfortable,” Bliss said. “When I first started NXT, we had promo classes, and I used to get so upset because I couldn’t get in front of a crowd and talk. I was terrified. Actually, our referee Shawn Bennett was just talking about my first promo class. I stood up there and started crying because I was really embarrassed to be in front of a large group and speaking. I performed in front of large crowds before, but I never had to speak in front of them, so it’s just one of those things you have to keep doing and doing. You have to put yourself in the most uncomfortable situations and make them comfortable.”
Rousey has gotten emotional on the microphone, and she’s clearly overwhelmed at times on the WWE stage. But at some point, she’s either going to sink or swim. Whether the fans turn on her before she can get totally comfortable remains to be seen. If so, Paul Heyman waits with Brock Lesnar, ready to be the mouthpiece for another budding star should it get to that point.
For now, Rousey’s going to get plenty of opportunities, with an appearance on every episode of Raw leading up to ‘Mania.
