Ronda Rousey made believers out of everyone who ever doubted her after her performance on Sunday night at WrestleMania 34. An MMA fighter gone professional wrestler, Rousey had her first official WWE match at the company's biggest pay-per-view, and she not only met people's expectations but exceeded them. She'll now move on to her next opponent and another after that, and the plan will be to make her one of the most dominant female competitors the WWE has ever seen.
In this history of WWE, there have been some incredible debuts. Kane, The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar, John Cena, The Nexus, and others have made lasting impressions right out of the gate. Some have gone on to have memorable careers. But, Ronda Rousey's debut at WrestleMania 34 may go down as the single best debut of all time.
While that's a bold statement that will clearly have people calling for our head, we're prepared to offer reasons why we think so.
The Highest of Expectations
Of the greatest WWE debuts in history, can you name one where more was expected out of a person than what was expected out of Ronda Rousey? Dubbed the "Baddest Woman on the Planet", Rousey was coming over from MMA and the majority of fans expected her not to be very good. Perhaps it's harsh to suggest people might believe she'd fail, but many were hoping they'd be able to say "see, I told you so." Noone can say that now.
The anticipation for Rousey's debut, both for her first appearance and for her first-ever match, was sky-high and the mounting pressure almost unfair. Others might have buckled knowing the eyes of not just wrestling fans but the sporting world was watching. She had sports panelists calling her a coward for leaving "real fighting" for "fake wrestling" and in the face of it all, she overcame and put on a spectacular show.
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Biggest Show Of The Year Equals Biggest Focus
Outside of the fact she was going to debut in WWE and people would be anxiously waiting, WWE put her on the grandest stage in the biggest arena where more people would be watching live and around the world than had ever seen her before. There were even rumors she'd be part of the main event. Talk about pressure.
If Rousey had flopped at WrestleMania, everyone would have known that her growth as a realistic WWE Superstar was going to be long and painful. Failures at WrestleMania have ended careers. Rousey didn't just perform well, she arguably stole the show.
In a way, WWE was banking their Women's Division on the fact that Rousey could handle being the company's top female superstar. They are now fully aware, thanks to her debut, she can and likely will be the most dominant female star they've ever had.
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The Mechanics and The Story
Those who saw the match once knew Rousey was good. If you go back and watch the match again — which is easy to do now thanks to WWE Network — you can see the little details Rousey just nailed throughout the match.
Her timing was impeccable, her ability to tell the story was compelling, and her precision with the moves she delivered (some of which were fairly advanced) was bang on. She even took the time to slow down the final armbar and watch Stephanie squirm as she realized she was not going to escape her impending doom. Watch the match again and watch Rousey's face. She absolutely nailed it.
Rousey was in the ring with two of the best in-ring performers in the history of WWE and another performer who had been around wrestling all her life. It can be argued Rousey outperformed everyone.
Rousey now has to move on and prove she wasn't a one-hit wonder. If she can do so, we may all look back at Sunday, April 8, 2018, as the date of the best debut in WWE history.