Heading into WrestleMania, there was a lot of talk about just how well Ronda Rousey would fare in a wrestling ring but following her debut at the Showcase of the Immortals, it's clear that she's found her calling. She's also cemented her position as a top babyface star in the company and with rumours pointing to her headlining next year's WrestleMania, Rousey's star is very much on the rise.
Now, WWE Hall of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin has shared his thoughts on how Rousey fared at the event and it's fair to say that the former UFC star has now found a very high profile fan.
"When she came out smiling, she looked like a million bucks. I liked the plaid skirt and she came out, she had her gear on, and then it was time. She got her game face on at the point, but I know where that came from. I’ll guarantee you that was straight out of the old man. ‘Go out there and smile’ because we know she’s a badass. We know she [has] got that mean mug face when it’s time to go out there and do business. And there were plenty of opportunities, and that did happen during the course of the match, but it felt a little weird to me, too, but, I think that he wanted her to smile just to be accessible, maybe to calm the nerves or maybe she’s more free when she’s focused, that laser-focus that she has. But I didn’t expect her to smile. But it was her first big performance in front of 78,000 people. Some people were knocking her on it. I could go either way on it, but I do know that when the bell rang, I was watching her body language and hang onto that tag rope.
"Obviously, they put a lot of time into this, she’s obviously a very talented person, and you had three hands in there with Kurt, Steph, and Triple H being able to go out there and help, along with the referee. So all of the pieces were set in place for this thing to be, and this thing was built to make all of them shine, but specifically Ronda and help get her over. And yeah, this one, I thought they knocked a grand slam, the bases were loaded, and they knocked it out of the park. And so, we’ll see what happens in the future when she starts moving into single’s endeavors, tag team endeavors. Yeah, this was great and they pulled it off. So she still has work to do, but as far as her performance goes, I give her an A+. And I give the match an A+ because that’s how entertained I was by it."
Austin's thoughts reflect what wrestling fans have been saying ever since WrestleMania took place and with the signs now pointing to her feuding with Natalya on RAW, we're clearly going to get plenty of opportunities to see her in the ring (she's definitely not a part-timer like Brock Lesnar, anyway).
What did you think of Rousey's WrestleMania performance? Share your thoughts down below!