Ronda Rousey

There have been Superstars who tried fighting and fighters who tried their hand at being Superstars. But there was only one Ronda Rousey.

This record-setting modern legend has blazed a trail through mixed-martial arts, beginning with a bronze medal showing in judo during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and, most notably, continuing with a record-setting tear through UFC as the first female competitor to ever sign with the company. Given her status as the Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Champion before that promotion was absorbed by the UFC, Rousey was named the first-ever UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion upon her arrival. It's no surprise that she was destined to become the first woman to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on July of 2018.

Dubbing herself “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey with the blessing of the late Roddy Piper, she embarked on a ruthless undefeated streak that saw her submit opponents within a matter of seconds via her signature armbar. And she caught the sports-entertainment bug along the way, sharing the ring with The Rock and The Authority at WrestleMania 31. Ever since, rumors of a crossover to WWE persisted at almost every turn, though it seemed a dream pairing that was destined to remain just that … until Royal Rumble 2018, when Rousey arrived wearing Piper’s unmistakable leather jacket.

She then officially entered WWE in explosive fashion, sending COO Triple H crashing through a table and nearly getting into a scuffle with Stephanie McMahon before signing her Raw contract, and making it clear, in no uncertain terms, why she is “The Baddest Woman on the Planet.”

“Rowdy” Ronda continued to clash with her new employers over the next several weeks – both physically and verbally – before teaming with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a blockbuster Mixed Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 34.

At SummerSlam 2018, Ronda defeated Alexa Bliss to win the Raw Women's Championship and went on to successfully defend her title against all comers, including Sasha Banks, Nia Jax and Nikki Bella.

This reign of dominance led Rousey to the main event of WrestleMania 35 where she clashed with Becky Lynch and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair in a Winner Take All Match. Rousey suffered her first pinfall loss in WWE when Lynch scored the 1-2-3, but her influence and impact in competing in the first-ever women’s main event at WrestleMania was impossible to ignore.

The Baddest Woman on the Planet returned from a hiatus on Jan. 29, 2022 to win the Royal Rumble Match and earn the right to headline WrestleMania against the Women's Champion of her choosing. She chose SmackDown Women's Champion Charlotte Flair as her opponent and fell short at WrestleMania but defeated Flair in an 'I Quit' Match at WrestleMania Backlash to win her first SmackDown Women's Championship.

After briefly losing the SmackDown Women's Championship to Ms. Money in the Bank Liv Morgan, Rousey recaptured the title, winning back the championship in a brutal Extreme Rules Match at WWE Extreme Rules and becoming a three-time women's champion.

Rousey, along with Shayna Baszler, was drafted to the Raw brand during the 2023 WWE Draft. On the May 29 episode of Raw, Rousey and Baszler captured the WWE Women's Tag Team Championships. Not long after winning tag gold, Rousey was betrayed by Baszler during their tag title defense against Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez at WWE Money in the Bank 2023!