When Ronda Rousey made her long-anticipated WWE debut at this past Sunday's Royal Rumble pay-per-view, early indications suggested that fellow female superstars weren't taking it well.
Former Raw Women's Champion Sasha Banks was asked for her take on it by Sirius XM’s Busted Open. The Legit Boss answered with "I have nothing to say about it, nope. I’ve got nothing nice to say, I’m gonna keep at that."
Nikki Bella and Nia Jax also expressed some form of frustration in Rousey taking over the final moments of the Royal Rumble:
However, Natalya is painting a completely different picture on how the rest of the female roster is receiving Rousey. Talking to Scott Fishman from TV Insider (/ht to WrestlingInc.), Natalya only had good things about Rousey joining the WWE:
"I think [Ronda] is going to be an excellent fit in WWE. She has a great attitude. She wants to be part of this company. She wants to get to know the girls. She has a tremendous respect for the history of our company. I think she definitely brings attention to the company in a lot of ways.
"I'll tell you one thing, because I am in the women's locker room. There is nothing but respect towards Ronda, no matter how anyone felt [about] how they debuted her. I think we are all excited about having her there, because there are so many possibilities of what we can do with her. We are all wondering if she is going to be on Raw or SmackDown. I really want to work with her, because I know we would tear it up."
Some of the females appeared to be frustrated that Rousey stole some of Asuka's thunder, after the latter won the very first 30-women's Royal Rumble. The former UFC star made a very brief introduction then walked out, which obviously took the focus away from Asuka - who was in the ring with champions Charlotte and Alexa Bliss.
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Of course, it's nothing new for some superstars to be frustrated with the appearance of another main star. Many WWE talents were angry when The Rock (a part-timer), got to headline two WrestleManias against John Cena. It's just the nature of the business - everyone is trying to out-do the other.
But there's no denying that Rousey will be a major star for the WWE. She was the face of UFC for two years, and became one of the most marketed athletes in the world. Rousey is joining the WWE at an opportune time, as the women's revolution gets stronger every year.
We fans can only hope that backstage politics and drama don't get in the way of what should be a historic journey for Rousey in the squared circle. We've had enough of that from many other wrestling talents.