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Over the course of her storied professional wrestling career, Sasha Banks has held the NXT Women's Title as well as the WWE RAW Women's Championship (4 times). "The Legit Boss" has performed for the WWE since 2012 -- cutting her teeth on the indies (2010-12), and NXT from 2012 to 2015.
Banks was issued a main roster call-up back in 2015, and the rest, as they say, is history. Banks became the first female WWE Superstar alongside Charlotte Flair to compete in a Women's Hell in a Cell match.
On the other hand, former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion and MMA icon "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey made the transition from the sport of Mixed Martial Arts to pro-wrestling earlier this year -- making her official debut as a WWE Superstar after her surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble in January.
It's intriguing to note that Banks initially wasn't too appreciative of Rousey coming to WWE, however, the duo seems to have settled their differences as of late. With Banks previously claiming that she's several leagues above Rousey, today, we take a special look at the biggest reasons why Ronda Rousey is in fact way better than Sasha Banks...
#10 A legitimate fighter
It's no secret that Ronda Rousey, the daughter of legendary Judoka Dr AnnMaria De Mars, is perhaps one of the most decorated fighters in combat sports history. In fact, her only losses as a professional MMA fighter came at the tail end of her career.
Rousey won the honours of Senior Bronze Medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the sport of Judo, and went to to achieve tremendous success in the world of Mixed Martial Arts -- winning the Women's Bantamweight Championship in both Strikeforce and the UFC, besides also making history by notching up 6 successful UFC title defenses -- a title-defense record which is yet to be broken in the UFC Women's category.
Rousey, alongside Liz Carmouche, is one half of the first pair of women to have competed in the UFC. Additionally, despite coming from a grappling background, Rousey is well-known for her deadly offensive striking -- having knocked out Olympian and UFC fighter Sara McMann with a knee, and absolutely annihilating Bethe Correia in one of the most brutal knockouts in MMA history...
#9 Global box office megastar
UFC President Dana White, who alongside The Rowdy One's husband Travis Browne, inducted Ronda Rousey into the UFC Hall of Fame -- perhaps said it best. White has time and again asserted that Ronda Rousey transcends sports; adding that the talented Judoka is bound to attract attention wherever she goes.
Rousey is regarded by many as the most successful female professional fighter of all time when it comes to selling PPVs at the box office. She is one of the rare combat sports athletes, male or female, whose fights have garnered over 1 million PPV buys. Rousey's rematch against Miesha Tate at UFC 168 garnered 1,025,000 PPV buys -- the UFC 193 fight against Holly Holm did 1,100,000 -- whereas the UFC 207 fight against Amanda Nunes similarly did 1,100,000 PPVs.
The numbers don't lie, and it was indeed quite startling at first for most combat sports fans to witness Rousey not only becoming a box office hit like legendary female boxer Christy Martin did back in the day but in fact, surpass Martin as well as several other male athletes in the financial dominion...
#8 Pop icon
Say what you want about current female WWE Superstars such as The Bella Twins (Nikki & Brie) as well as Maryse -- the fact remains that although certain sections of professional wrestling fans may label them as 'Divas', these women have broken through into mainstream pop culture courtesy their WWE fame, as well as the reality television, shows they star in.
Well, in that regard, Ronda Rousey beats her contemporaries not only in the UFC but also in the WWE. Rousey has starred in movies such as Entourage, The Expendables 3, as well as the 7th edition of The Fast and the Furious movie franchise. Rousey has also appeared on TV shows such as Blindspot, and Drunk History, besides notably starring alongside Mark Wahlberg in Mile 22.
Furthermore, Rousey's popularity doesn't taper off once you head out the US! The current WWE Superstar is also well known in countries such as Brazil, Armenia, India, Australia as well as the UK to name a few...
#7 Olympic-level grappling skills
Irrespective of whether you love or hate the unabashedly confident WWE RAW Women's Champion, it's a matter of fact that Ronda Rousey is indeed one of the most decorated Judokas hailing from the Americas!
Way before she ever took off her shoes to step into the cage and compete as a pro-MMA fighter, Rousey trained extensively with MMA veterans such as Manny Gamburyan, Karo Parisyan -- eventually going on to work with BJJ royalty such as Rener Gracie, Ryron Gracie and UFC Hall of Famer BJ Penn. Now, professional wrestling differs from BJJ, in the sense that you have to work with your opponent in pro-wrestling as opposed to against your foe in BJJ.
Nevertheless, Rousey's genius understanding of the grappling sciences as a whole undoubtedly helps her as she navigates the treacherous and challenging waters of professional wrestling. In simple words, Rousey's grappling is head-and-shoulders above that of Sasha Banks...
#6 Superior athleticism
Upon being probed regarding her otherworldly athletic ability, Ronda Rousey has often credited her physical talent to the teachings handed down to her by her mother, Dr AnnMaria De Mars. However, another key element of her superb fitness is that Rousey allocates a great deal of attention to her strength and conditioning program -- with notable MMA opponents such as Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano having publicly stated that Rousey's strength in a fight is indeed quite formidable.
This one seems to be an oft-overlooked, yet the extremely important quality of the woman whom we saw throw around not one but two Bellas at WWE Evolution, as though they were nothing more than rag dolls to her! Rousey is good friends with the Diaz brothers -- and with both Nick and Nate Diaz known for possessing the best cardio in all of MMA, it isn't too surprising that Rousey too seems to be a cardio beast.
While most of her MMA fights ended in Round 1, the insane pace that Rousey kept throughout her fights, seems to have carried over to the WWE -- as Rousey's speed and agility seem to stand out in the wrestling ring as well...
#5 Commanding presence
Ronda Rousey has been quite open about being bullied as a child as well as a teenager, noting that most of her peers ridiculed her as she was a lifelong sportswoman, to the extent that some of the bullies referred to her as "Miss Man".
Well, thankfully, to paraphrase the great John Cena -- Rousey was successfully able to 'rise above hate' -- as she went on to achieve tremendous success in Judo, MMA and now the world of sports-entertainment in the WWE. I'd like to hark back to the point we noted earlier, regarding UFC President Dana White showering Rousey with a ton of praise.
The fact that Rousey would draw attention and be a success no matter where she goes, isn't hyperbole by any means -- especially since that very sentiment has been expressed by several prominent personalities in the fight business including by legendary pugilist Mike Tyson, UFC commentator Joe Rogan, MMA legend Daniel Cormier, and many more.
Ronda Rousey has an aura of elegance and passion around her -- a woman who seems to be God-gifted with a commanding presence...
#4 A natural at promos
Alright, this one may get The Legit Boss' loyalists a tad riled up. Ronda Rousey, in the short period of time that she's been with the WWE, has already gotten better at delivering promos than most of her competitors on the roster today. Although Sasha Banks is regarded by many as one of the very best talkers in the business today, when Rousey spits fire on the mic, even the most memorable of The Boss' promos seem weak when compared to The Rowdy One!
After all, the WWE Universe is yet to get over the furore caused by Rousey's wild promo against The Bella Twins, when she memorably took a stinging shot at Nikki Bella's relationship with fellow WWE Superstar John Cena. I'd like to note a highly important point over here -- said point being that Rousey has been cutting fiery promos way before she ever stepped foot inside a WWE ring.
Don't believe me? Fair enough. Just check out her trash-talking fight promotional antics against Miesha Tate in their Strikeforce and UFC fights respectively; particularly when she coached the TUF (The Ultimate Fighter) reality show against Tate. While most of her trash talk in MMA wasn't exactly PG, Rousey has masterfully toned down her cussing in order to make her WWE promos more suitable to be viewed by fans of all age categories...
#3 A quick learner
Expounding upon what we just discussed, it's incredible when you consider how swiftly Ronda Rousey has learnt to tone down her promos -- going from the cussing, bird-flipping UFC troublemaker, to the fiery yet poised WWE standout. Be it in Judo, MMA or professional wrestling, Rousey has been praised by one and all for being a quick learner.
While her promos seem to be fire and ice served with confidence that's sky high, Rousey's in-ring wrestling skills seem to be no less amazing either! Rousey's debut WWE match at WrestleMania 34 garnered a considerable amount of critical acclaim, while the manner in which she sold being attacked by Nia Jax at Money In The Bank endeared Rousey to the fans. The Rowdy One has professional wrestling in her blood, which isn't too shocking, as she's been a fan of the sport since childhood.
Moreover, accounts from Superstars such as Natalia as well as Kurt Angle confirm the fact that not only does Rousey train with the discipline of a true martial artist, but also that she is incredibly humble and not shy of asking questions while honing her pro-wrestling skills...
#2 Emotional, vulnerable, yet a real-life superhero
A woman of passion, true to family and friends, a sworn enemy to her rivals, and an unapologetic pioneer of Women's MMA -- nevertheless, Ronda Rousey may often time come across as an emotional, gullible, vulnerable individual.
In fact, Rousey herself has stated that she is indeed an extremely emotional person, and doesn't regret wearing her heart of her sleeve. Despite all of her vulnerability, her initial struggles, rise to stardom, trials and tribulations while entering the MMA world, and subsequent success in both UFC and WWE serve to prove that Rousey is a real-life superhero.
I'd like to add that what truly makes her a superhero is that despite herself coming from a modest background, Rousey, after amassing millions of dollars with her MMA and Hollywood careers, subsequently began engaging in a great number of social welfare activities -- something she continues to this very day. It was revealed earlier this year that Rousey has, in fact, started her own management company -- One Fight Management -- whereby she intends to help fighters who've signed with her agency, make the most of the deals they sign for their respective combat sports fights...
#1 Is a WWE Superstar just because of her love for the sport
Ronda Rousey has raked in millions of dollars at the box office over the course of her long and storied career in the MMA realm, and although Forbes notes her net worth to be around $12 million, combat sports pundits claim that since Rousey received a considerable amount of a percentage from the UFC PPV sales, she may very well be twice as wealthier than what the disclosed payments may suggest.
Considering that, it's safe to say that Rousey doesn't really need to pursue a career in Hollywood or perform in the WWE for a living. Furthermore, with occasional appearances in the movies and TV shows taking up a negligible amount of time from her routine, Rousey has lately been focusing all her strength on her WWE career.
Honestly speaking, even her biggest detractors would agree that Rousey is now a WWE Superstar, purely because of her love for the business.
Also Read: 10 Reasons why Kevin Nash is better than CM Punk
The aforementioned reasons truly serve to help us comprehend why Rousey's character in the WWE is so much better than that of Sasha Banks. Which reasons do you feel make Rousey better than Banks? Sound off in the comments!
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