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What's the story?
At WWE's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, Ronda Rousey made her debut for the company after the Women's Royal Rumble. She revealed in interviews that she had signed a full-time contract with WWE and that the wrestling company was her only priority.
Since her appearance at the Rumble pay-per-view, Rousey has not shown up on WWE programming, on either of the following episodes of Raw and SmackDown Live. Her absence from Raw and SmackDown Live led to speculation that her contract was not 'full-time' per se, and it was actually a part-time one. On the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer commented that Rousey's contract may be similar to Lesnar's.
In case you didn't know...
There have been rampant rumours for a long time that Ronda Rousey was to sign a contract with WWE. Her contract signing was confirmed when she made her way down to the ring after the Women's Royal Rumble, interrupting Asuka's celebration. She pointed to the WrestleMania sign, and after Asuka refused to shake her hand, she made her way down to the announcers' table to shake Stephanie's.
The fact that she pointed at the WrestleMania sign indicates that she will be part of the pay-per-view, something that has been criticized by current members of the Women's Roster as she has not earned the right yet in their eyes.
The heart of the matter
Dave Meltzer said that it was 'interesting' that the announcement said that she was signed to a full-time contract as that was in 'nobody's best interest'. He commented that Rousey may 'burn out' on a full-time contract because she is not used to wrestling.
He went on to say that as she was already successful, the travelling schedule that came with a full-time contract would cease to be 'fun'. Meltzer also speculated that wrestling is a 'back-stabbing business' and she might not be able to adjust to the internal politics.
He finally specified that he thought it is more likely that Rousey would do a 'Lesnar schedule' and face some of the top women of the company, but not be a regular feature in all of the shows.
Watch her make her WWE debut here:
What's next?
This is all speculation at this point, but Rousey is unlikely to pull a full-time contract with WWE that would have her appear at house shows and every televised episode. She may just be an occasional attraction for the company similar to 'The Beast' Brock Lesnar. The coming weeks will reveal more about Rousey's WWE contract.
Author's take
Ronda Rousey signing with the WWE is one of the biggest things for the Women's Roster, as they will receive a bigger push because she is within their ranks, being a mainstream star. If she appears more often it may expose her weaknesses. It may be in her and WWE's best interest to keep her as a part-time talent.
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