Ronda Rousey has successfully transitioned from the UFC to WWE, with Mickie James being one of hear earliest foes.
When speaking to Landon Buford of Hype Magazine, Mickie James talked about the differences that Ronda Rousey is experiencing after moving over from the UFC to WWE.
I think she’s come a long way since she debuted on Wrestlemania. It’s tough because you go from being in the ring with Kurt Angle, Triple H, and Stephanie. Stephanie has so much heat. Fans love her and hate her and want to love to hate her. You’re in there with the best of the best and then go from that platform into the women’s division, which is a whole other animal of the family. In terms of the locker room and on the road together and us always working together to create these moments and matches. While trying to understand that cycle, but I think she’s working hard and she’s trying hard. It’s a different world for her and I think it’s a different dynamic in the sense of that we’re all competitive, clearly, but we’re also all a family and we all must work together. You are only as good as the person in there lets you be at the end of the day. Hopefully, they are professional enough to let you do that.
I think that’s probably the biggest difference for her, that and to understand that nobody is out to get her. That is the world she grew up in, understandably to become an Olympian or go into the UFC hall of fame, and become a champion. That type of mindset has helped her become a household name and bring women into the limelight. I think that she’s trying hard and I’m sure that it’s a different world for her to get adapted to and she’s recognizing that this is a whole different animal. I think she loves it here in the WWE.
James was also asked about her response to former Women's Champion Bayley speaking positively about her locker room leadership.
It’s incredible. I think it’s humbling and it’s an incredible honor. I think that it has always been prominent in the male locker room. They have always had the tiers of veteran leadership from the individuals who have been there for 12 years to mentoring the upcoming talent. Now, to have that in the female locker room provides strong leadership to younger female talent who are now just coming up. Hopefully, I can encourage them through our life experiences to not make some of the same mistakes that we’ve made in the past. Both inside and outside of the ring it’s a massive benefit for them because a lot of the time they learn by trial and error. Hopefully, if you have someone who’s already been there, done that, then you could learn from those mistakes or learn from all the successes they have had in the business. You can be so successful if you use those lessons in your own career. So, to answer your question I am incredibly honored, and I love Bayley so much. She is such a good person, super sweet, and she loves wrestling. Like, loves it within her deepest part of her soul. She’s great, always very complimentary and very respectful in the locker room.
Mickie James will team with Alexa Bliss to take on Lita and Trish Stratus at WWE Evolution, while Ronda Rousey defends her WWE Raw Women's Championship against Nikki Bella. The show takes place on Sunday, October 28 from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Fightful.com will have a live post-show podcast.
