Refinery29 recently had the pleasure of speaking to the current WWE RAW Women’s Champion ahead of WWE Evolution where she was asked about her transition from the UFC to WWE. Ronda grew up a wrestling fan inspired by Rowdy Piper and Hulk Hogan, but Rousey confirmed that a great deal of superstars in today’s locker room helped her out.
“Every single person on the roster has been a teacher to me at some point. I’ve learned something from everyone. Nattie’s been amazing to me from day one, when I was just training with Brian Kendrick in secret. Nattie knew I was training and she had just finished a South America tour. She had been all over the place, and instead of coming home, she flew all the way out to L.A. and stayed at my house and came to train with me. Now that I’ve been traveling around with them, I’m like, ‘How could you ever have taken some of your home days and spend them on me?’
Sasha [Banks] and Bayley have taught me so much. [They] have been these great examples of being effortlessly great at what they do. They’ve also been a great resource and made me feel so comfortable about coming to them and asking them questions. I’ve learned so much from every woman that I’ve ever been in the ring with. Nia Jax was my first singles match and if I didn’t have her as my partner, I don’t know if it would have been as good as it was. It was extremely intimidating that my first ever singles match was for the Raw Women’s Championship and she was just a great mentor and guide through that whole process. The people you are against [are the ones] you spend the most time with and you learn the most from. There isn’t a single woman in the locker room that hasn’t been instrumental to my success.”
It’s awesome to see that almost every woman in the WWE helped Ronda at some point and Natalya’s contributions should’t go unnoticed.
As if right now, Alexa Bliss is set to team with Mickie James for one of the most hyped women’s matches is recent years as they take on the team of WWE HOF’ers, Trish Stratus and Lita. Unfortunately for Alexa Bliss and her fans, she suffered a concussion at a live event Saturday night and may not be cleared in time for Evolution.
After Bliss was sent home due to concussion protocol, Trish Stratus and Lita beat up Mickie James and Alicia Fox backstage which sets Fox as Bliss’s replacement. Interestingly enough, Dave Meltzer noted that Alicia Fox was also going to be Liv Morgan’s replacement if her concussion got worse.
