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What's the story?
It was announced last week by WWE that Ronda Rousey would appear on every episode of Monday Night Raw before WrestleMania. Now, It does not look like this will happen, as WWE have hastily changed their advertisements, to exclude Rousey from all episodes of Raw other than the go-home show for WrestleMania.
According to Wrestling Inc, WWE went one step further and deleted their article from last week which said that Rousey was set to appear on each episode of Raw.
In case you didn't know...
After months of rumours about Ronda Rousey signing a contract with WWE, the former UFC Bantamweight Champion made an appearance after the first ever Women's Royal Rumble match, where she came face-to-face with Asuka and the two Women's Champions Alexa Bliss and Charlotte.
Rousey told ESPN that WWE was her priority for the next several years. She did not appear on Raw after that, though a public contract signing was announced for WWE's Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. At Elimination Chamber, Rousey put Triple H through a table following revelations by Kurt Angle, who said that Triple H and Stephanie were planning revenge against her, for WrestleMania 31 when she had confronted them.
Over the next few weeks, this led to a match being decided for WrestleMania, with Rousey and Kurt teaming up to face Triple H and Stephanie.
The heart of the matter
Ronda Rousey was set to appear on this week's episode of Raw, but that did not happen. Last week WWE had promised fans that Ronda Rousey would appear on every show prior to WrestleMania, and her absence was noticeable this week. This was the statement released by WWE:
"Raw is about to get a lot more Rowdy! It has been announced that Ronda Rousey will appear on every single episode of Raw leading up to WrestleMania... What impact will Rousey have on the Road to WrestleMania? Tune in to Raw every week to find out!"
WWE was quick to remove her from advertisements for the next two episodes of Raw and only kept her advertised for the Raw prior to WrestleMania.
No reason has been given for her absence, though it may be because she is preparing for her first professional wrestling match.
What's next?
Ronda Rousey is set to appear on the Ellen Show this week on Tuesday, where she will talk about her shift from UFC to WWE.
The next time Rousey is slated to appear on Raw is on the 2nd April show, which is the go-home show for WrestleMania 34.
Author's take
Ronda Rousey may have signed a 'full-time' contract with WWE, but her appearances have been extremely limited till now. This may be WWE's way of keeping her fresh, by keeping her off television so that her appearance at WrestleMania feels all the more special.
