Eric Bischoff shares his thoughts on Ronda Rousey.
Former SmackDown Women's Champion Ronda Rousey made her debut at the ROH TV tapings on November 17. The appearance marked her second bout since she departed WWE following her match at WWE SummerSlam, as she wrestled at Wrestling REVOLVER Unreal on November 16.
Speaking on 83 Weeks, co-host Conrad Thompson brought up Ronda Rousey's ROH debut. He noted that, hypothetically, having a name like the former WWE attached would be a good strategy if Tony Khan was trying to get a TV deal for the company.
“Eh. I think she’s, I don’t want to say overrated, but I think in terms of the professional wrestling industry, she’s overrated. An obviously very accomplished mixed martial artist, very accomplished at judo. Phenomenal athlete. But she never clicked for me in WWE, despite a push from the gods. She got an amazing push, but there was something lacking with her, and she never clicked with me. I don’t think she really clicked with the audience. Not long after she first arrived, I think the shine kind of wore off the star pretty quickly, and I never got the feeling that she was really serious about the industry. Don’t get me wrong, not in terms of her performances or what she put in. Not suggesting she didn’t put in her full effort, but it takes more than that, and I never really felt like she embraced the business. After Holly Holm knocked her out decidedly, she left there, kind of whined about it a little bit. Not someone who handled the loss well in the media. Then she segued into WWE, and I don’t know. I just don’t think she’s as big a name as people sometimes think she is. I think she mattered to a buyer. I don’t think that there’s going to be a media buyer out there or a programming buyer out there that’s going, ‘Oh, wait, you got Ronda Rousey? I too wasn’t sure about this deal, but now I really want to do it.’ I don’t see that," Bischoff said.
Thompson then noted that he thinks Rousey would have thrived as a heel, and he would like to see her in that role in the future. Bischoff agreed and stated that he views her as more of a heel, so that may have been why she did not click.
“I agree with you on that. That was a creative choice, and she is a heel. I think by nature, she’s more of a heel than a babyface, and that could have been the reason why it didn’t resonate with the audience or me. She was miscast," Bischoff said.
At the AEW Full Gear post-show media scrum, Tony Khan confirmed that Ronda Rousey is not signed to AEW, but he would love to have her back. Check out her comments here.
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