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Ronda Rousey is a UFC Hall of Famer who's regarded by many as one of the true pioneers of Women's MMA (Mixed Martial Arts).
After winning several championships in the sport of Judo, including a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Rousey went on to achieve great success in MMA -- winning titles in Strikeforce as well as the UFC, and solidifying her status as a legend in MMA.
It's a well-known fact that Rousey has been a professional wrestling fan since her younger days, and thankfully for us, she officially started off her career as a WWE Superstar earlier this year. Since then, Rousey has thoroughly impressed one and all in the pro-wrestling/sports-entertainment business -- and quickly rose to the top by winning the WWE RAW Women's Championship.
However, since then, the way Rousey has been booked on the WWE's flagship show, Monday Night RAW, has been quite strange. Her booking on the RAW brand is, in fact, hurting her overall standing with the WWE Universe!
Today, we examine why RAW is hurting Rousey's fan-following in the WWE Universe, and how the WWE needs to take immediate measures to avoid damaging Rousey's on-screen character...
#5 Forced smiles are hurting Ronda Rousey just like they hurt Bobby Lashley
Remember how most of us were pumped up by the thought that the WWE has big plans for Bobby Lashley, after he made his highly-awaited return to the company earlier this year? Well, the way Lashley had been booked on RAW, absolutely ruined his on-screen character, and all the interest that the fans had in seeing a babyface Lashley capture the Universal Title.
Granted that the WWE has now turned Lashley heel, and thankfully, are not instructing him to break out that forced smile anymore -- the fact remains that his momentum was absolutely killed off due to him being booked to appear downright absurd with the aforementioned awkward smiling.
Similarly, Ronda Rousey has been criticized a lot for constantly smiling in any and every appearance on Monday Night RAW. Now, don't get me wrong -- I have nothing against having our WWE Superstars smile!
But the fact that Rousey's smile seems so very forced, excessively exaggerating her on-screen babyface character, just seems to be awkward and unnecessary. Hence, the WWE would be better off if they simply have Rousey be herself, and trust me, I've followed her since her days in Strikeforce and later the UFC -- Rousey is a natural born star, who doesn't need a script or instructions from WWE's Creative Team to act like a star...
#4 Turning "The Baddest Woman On The Planet" into "Miss Goody Two Shoes"
Alright, I'd like to use a very important comparison over here -- Back in 2014, the vast majority of the professional wrestling community absolutely loved Roman Reigns, who at the time was the silent enforcer of The Shield.
Well, Seth Rollins betrayed his Shield brothers Reigns and Dean Ambrose on the June 2nd, 2014 episode of Monday Night RAW. And in the time that followed, the WWE eventually turned Reigns from a silent enforcer and true powerhouse, to "Mr. Goody Two Shoes" -- forcing him to act as though her were John Cena 2.0!
Although Reigns gradually won over the fans once again by being a true workhorse until he recently stepped away from the ring to battle his returning leukemia, it makes no sense whatsoever for the WWE to make the same mistake with Ronda Rousey.
Frankly speaking, the WWE needs to stop booking "The Baddest Woman On The Planet" like "Miss Goody Two Shoes". She's a fighter, and the WWE would be better off if they let her act like a fighter, instead of trying to turn her into the female version of John Cena...
#3 Not taking lessons from SmackDown Live's booking of Becky Lynch
Firstly, I'd like to clarify that I'm not one of the people who take sides between RAW and SmackDown. In fact, even during Survivor Series season, I'm fairly unbiased, and only wish for the best brand, teams and Superstars to win.
However, it's an undeniable fact that over the past few months, the WWE's SmackDown brand has been booking its women's champions way better than the RAW brand has. I mean, just look at how the blue brand has placed its trust on reigning SmackDown Live Women's Champion Becky Lynch, and has portrayed her as "The Man" and the true champ in WWE!
On the other hand, when you talk about RAW, the WWE constantly books current RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey in pointless multi-woman tag team matches, and even went to the point of having her feud with Nikki Bella (who hadn't wrestled in a very long time!), instead of booking a feud between Rousey and Sasha Banks or Rousey and Ember Moon.
Let's be honest, guys, the RAW brand could definitely take lessons from SmackDown, when it comes to booking the RAW Women's Champion Ronda Rousey...
#2 Overexposure of Ronda Rousey on Monday Night RAW
An important fact I'd like to note over here, is that when the WWE first signed Ronda Rousey, most fans and experts argued that if Rousey isn't used as a full-time Superstar, the company would be wrong to push her as a top star.
Well, Rousey appearances obviously aren't as rare as Brock Lesnar, but the fact remains that Rousey still works fewer dates than most current full-timers in WWE. However, the WWE still manages to use Rousey in several segments on Monday Night RAW, which often results in excessive usage on Rousey on the WWE's flagship TV show!
The WWE made a similar mistake in the past with John Cena during the PG Era, as the man would be given too much airtime week after week on RAW. Unless the WWE wants the fans to mercilessly boo Rousey -- despite her being a babyface -- then they most definitely should be careful about not shoving Rousey down our throats every week on RAW...Anything in excess is bad, so is the overuse of Rousey on WWE television...
#1 Pressurizing Ronda Rousey with terribly-written, scripted promos
"You're not just the man. You are the 'Millennial Man'. You are the skinny jeans-wearing, V neck-sporting, avocado toast-munching, winged shoe-wearing, millennial man, with a bubble-wrapped ego and a porcelain self-perception!"
The aforementioned statements were a part of Ronda Rousey's backstage promo against Becky Lynch ahead of their Champion vs. Champion matchup at Survivor Series this Sunday. Now, I understand that writing good promos is a rather subtle art, and coming up with even halfway-decent ones on a weekly basis could indeed be an incredibly challenging task.
Nevertheless, Rousey's aforementioned promo was indisputably on the level of Roman Reigns' infamous "sufferin' succotash" promo! To put it bluntly, the WWE needs to stop pressurizing Ronda Rousey with terribly-written scripted promos, and just let her handle the mic like she did in the UFC.
Rousey is considered to be one of the best trash-talkers in MMA history, and the fact that WWE is still choosing to have her cut scripted promos, is truly baffling! The WWE have to handle Rousey's brand with great caution from this point moving forward, particularly when Rousey feuds with fan-favorite Superstars such as Becky Lynch!
How do you think the WWE can improve their management of Ronda Rousey's on-screen character on RAW? Please give us your thoughts in the comments section below!
