Ronda Rousey recently returned to the WWE, winning the 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble, and earning herself a spot in a main event match at WrestleMania 38. She is no doubt a huge name and gives WWE a boost on paper. It has been nearly three years since Rousey was last in WWE, and it isn’t quite yet clear if she is as good as she was previously.
Looking back at her last 10 WWE matches will deduce where the first couple of outings sit in terms of the last matches of her previous run in WWE. Rousey’s first run featured a lot of house shows matches, but this article will solely consider her televised matches.
10 Vs Ruby Riott (Elimination Chamber 2019)
This was a Raw Women’s Title match that took place at the Elimination Chamber PPV, and there are a few reasons for its low ranking. As a squash match, it was fine, however, Rousey had been squashing superstars for an entire year, and fans would have much preferred to see a competitive back and forth match, with it already being clear how dominant Rousey was and still is.
Riott was a misused worker in WWE, so seeing her swept aside was a big shame and something which takes this match even further down the ranking. The pair would have a rematch the following night, and the quality of that match is something that pushes this down even lower.
9 Vs Sarah Logan (Raw; March 25, 2019)
This was the first of three Beat the Clock challenge matches, featuring Rousey, Becky Lynch, and Charlotte Flair, as they each attempted to one-up each other in the lead up to WrestleMania. It wasn’t the most inventive way to build tension, and the matches suffered.
Rousey ran through Logan in just over a minute, with nothing too much to shout about. Rousey had been made to look dominant all throughout the year, so this quick victory did nothing to elevate her any further.
Becky would end up winning the Beat the Clock challenge, defeating Liv Morgan in one minute and 18 seconds. Rousey's match against Logan would last one minute and 25 seconds.
8 2022 Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Out of both Rumbles on the night, the Women’s one was certainly more entertaining, and it wasn’t even that good in itself. There were very few stories told throughout, and it felt randomly put together in places.
Rousey’s return was a huge moment and delivered the match with the biggest pop of the night. Rousey herself looked a little slower than she’d been previously, clearly with a bit of ring rust, but she still managed to win the match, setting up a big title challenge at WrestleMania.
7 Vs Dana Brooke (Raw; March 18, 2019)
This Raw Women’s Championship match ended in just 19 seconds, but it played into several stories. Brooke had been sharing details about her journey and pride about having this title match, but Rousey had just begun cementing herself as a heel, so having her destroy Brooke in seconds was very impactful.
Up to this point, Rousey had squashed several women on the main roster, but doing so as a fully-fledged heel was a different dynamic, and the post-match beat down of security was a nice added bonus.
6 W/Natalya Vs The Riott Squad (Raw; February 25, 2019)
This tag team match was a standard tag affair, but it wasn’t anything too special, especially since fans had seen Rousey fight with The Riott Squad several times over the last couple of months, and always dispatch of them with ease.
This match featured a DQ finish, with Becky Lynch ambushing Natalya in an attempt to get one over on Rousey. This would lead to a fun brawl, which boosts this match up a little, as it helped add to their story, though DQ finishes do happen quite often in WWE, and can become a tiresome trope.
5 Vs Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan (Raw; February 4, 2019)
Though these were two singles matches, they took place back-to-back in the same segment, so it is easier to group them in together. The intention was to make Rousey look strong and to show her frustrations at Becky Lynch getting suspended.
This did its job, and a slightly more competitive match with Logan was nice to see, even if it was still short. Morgan was made to look like cannon fodder, which was a shame considering how much she has proved her worth in more recent times.
4 Vs Becky Lynch Vs Charlotte Flair (WrestleMania 35)
The first-ever female main event of WrestleMania was a big deal, and there was a lot of hype leading towards it, even with the controversial addition of Charlotte Flair into proceedings. If the match had taken place a lot earlier on the night, it would likely have been an electric contest.
However, after a long night of action, the fans were absolutely zapped for energy during the match, leading to quite a quiet crowd, and a dud of a main event. The action was still strong but taking away a lively crowd from the greatest of in-ring matches will lessen its impact ten-fold. A botched finish didn’t help this lackluster main event either, but it featured some good moments regardless, and Lynch’s victory was a great way to end 'Mania on a high note.
3 W/Naomi Vs Sonya Deville & Charlotte Flair (Elimination Chamber 2022)
This was just Rousey’s second match back since her return in 2022, and she already looked miles above how she did in the Rumble. Due to the constraints in place when WWE go to Saudi Arabia, it allowed Rousey to wear her old judo attire, which was a nice nod to her past.
The match was a simple enough tag team affair, with everything doing its job in building towards WrestleMania, and making Rousey look badass, reminding fans of how naturally she takes to performing inside the ring.
2 W/Becky Lynch & Charlotte Flair Vs The Riott Squad (Raw; April 1, 2019)
This match having a high placing may be cheating a little. The match itself was the classic WWE trope of “can they co-exist”, as the three opponents teamed up on the go-home show before WrestleMania 35. They sailed through the Riott Squad quickly, but it was the post-match shenanigans that took the headlines.
Rousey, Flair, and Lynch had one of the most fun, ridiculous, and crazy backstage brawls in modern memory, with a lot of great moments, and it remains to this day as a fantastic segment. Coupled with the match before, it was a great way to build anticipation towards their 'Mania main event.
1 Vs Ruby Riott (Raw; February 18, 2019)
This was a rematch from their title contest at Elimination Chamber the night before, and coming out of this one, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this should have been the match the pair had at the PPV.
This was a strong main event of Raw, even if the result was inevitable. Having Rousey work with strong in-ring competitors such as Riott was a clever move, as it allowed her to both improve and look great at the same time. Though their previous match was a dud, this one did a good job at trying to rectify it.