Ronda Rousey: From World's Most Dominant Athlete to Bad Play Actor

by Julian Spivey
Ronda Rousey is no stranger to historical feats and tonight she’ll add another to her belt (and maybe an actual championship belt) when she takes part in the first ever all-female main event at WrestleMania 35.
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But, as Rousey prepares to take the main stage at WrestleMania, I can’t help but feel that she is the most disappointing athlete currently active in the sports world – or maybe I should say the entertainment world?

Because while there’s no doubt Rousey is a world-class athlete, she gave up on her mixed martial arts career at the age of 29 after two consecutive losses (to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes both via knockout) to go to the choreographed playland of World Wrestling Entertainment where she will no doubt become the biggest star in that form of entertainment, but lose a lot of credibility as an athlete.

Make no mistake, I realize this is Rousey’s decision and hers alone, but it’s disappointing to see an all-time great, last year she became the first woman ever inducted into the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Hall of Fame, walk away from an actual sport to go into the worst type of bad soap opera acting you could potentially find. It would be like if Serena Williams walked away from tennis in her prime to join the cast of “Days of Our Lives.”

Just four years ago Rousey was named the “greatest female athlete of all-time” in an ESPN.com fan poll, and while those results were certainly misguided, it shows the importance she held in the world of sports. Sports, in general, and especially mixed martial arts were better off with Rousey. Now she’s on to play fighting fellow bad actresses with stage names and trashy looks instead of the Olympic-level quality fighters that she was (Rousey was a bronze medalist in judo in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics).

There’s no doubt Rousey is going to make a ton of money in WWE and the move to professional wrestling will likely be better for her longtime health than fighting in the octagon, I just hate to see someone who was one of the greats turned into what she has become.   

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