Ever since making the transition from mixed martial arts to pro wrestling and debuting in the WWE at the 2018 Royal Rumble, former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey’s WWE run has been met with mixed reactions. Some believe that she’s in over her head due to the myriad of differences between MMA and sports entertainment, some believe she’s taking opportunities away from women who made their way up from the indies, and some see her as WWE’s next big thing. In any case, she’s doing a lot of learning on the job, and doing so as quickly as possible, and one thing she apparently learned in recent weeks is that being slapped on the face, like she was by Stephanie McMahon on Monday Night Raw, can be surprisingly painful.

Speaking to Yahoo Sports’ Andreas Hale, Rousey talked in depth about her move from UFC to WWE, starting with how she decided to join the latter company because she wanted to be an “example” to her future children, and show them the importance of pursuing one’s dreams. She also discussed the influence that the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper had on her, from her heelish press conferences as a UFC fighter, to her WWE attire which features a black leather jacket and a t-shirt with the same lettering used by Piper.

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Indeed, Rousey’s pro wrestling fandom was evident in a sport where it isn’t uncommon for competitors, commentators, and fans to look down on wrestling. But now that she’s become an actual WWE talent, she’s finding out that performing in the WWE isn’t exactly the same as fighting in UFC. This was something she found out in a recent angle, where Stephanie McMahon gave her a “pretty stiff” slap to the face.

“I’ve never been slapped before,” Rousey admitted. “Anybody who has ever been slapped tells me that it hurts more than you think. Man, when she hauled off and whacked me, my first thought was ‘Wow, that really hurt way more than I thought it would.’ Everyone was right. Slaps suck and there was a loud noise followed by the crowd’s ‘Ooooh!’ I didn’t see that coming at all.

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Slipping into character for a moment, Rousey told Yahoo Sports that when it comes to getting back at McMahon, revenge “is a dish served cold,” and she’s planning to serve up the “coldest dish” when she and Kurt Angle take on Stephanie and Triple H at WrestleMania 34.

Given Ronda Rousey's inexperience as a pro wrestler, the advanced age of Angle and Triple H, and the fact that Stephanie McMahon is a very occasional in-ring performer who is mostly known as an authority figure, one shouldn't expect the aforementioned mixed tag team match at 'Mania to be a classic. Furthermore, Rousey has often appeared to be awkward and tentative in front of the WWE camera, a stark contrast from the confidence she displayed during her UFC days. But nobody said it would be easy to move from UFC to WWE, and Rousey has shown, once again, that she is enthusiastic and eager to learn in this early stage of her wrestling career.