Ronda Rousey made a stunning debut at WrestleMania 34, her first-ever appearance with the WWE.
Not only did she defeat Stephanie McMahon, but she also took down veteran Triple H, at one point hoisting him above her shoulders. If that wasn’t enough, she teamed up with Kurt Angle and beat The Authority.
Rousey, a former UFC bantamweight champion, caused a stir in the world of sports entertainment when she joined the WWE.
“This is my life now. Yeah, they have first priority on my time for the next several years,” she said at the time. “This is not a smash and grab, this is not a publicity stunt.”
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Her final UFC fights weren’t anything to write home about; Rousey lost back-to-back bouts, effectively ending her mixed martial arts career. Many wrestling critics and aficionados believed she was done in the ring.
Naysaying voices were silenced when Rousey picked up the big win on Sunday night.
The 31-year-old received a standing ovation as she walked into the ring, wearing an outfit honouring her late idol, former wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper. She appeared to be surprised by the fan reaction and beamed from ear to ear.
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Approximately 78,100 fans gathered in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La. to watch Rousey’s first match.
She first appeared in the WWE ring at the end of January at Royal Rumble, teasing her Wrestlemania 34 debut.
“This has been a dream of mine since me and all my girlfriends would sit around and watch wrestling together,” Rousey told WWE.com when she joined the league. “No matter how much I tried to do other things in my life, this kept following me around. It’s time to take a hint from the universe and go for it.”
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UFC president Dana White (who was in the Superdome to take in the show) said Rousey will never fight again for the company, and Rousey said she hasn’t followed MMA in the past year.
Rousey adopted the “Rowdy” nickname from her hero.
— With files from Katie Scott
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