Ronda Rousey's Royal Rumble outfit was not merely thrown together and the jacket that she was wearing had a special significance.
One of the biggest rumors heading into Sunday night's Royal Rumble was the one surrounding the potential appearance of Ronda Rousey. Then the former UFC Bantamweight Champion informed fans that she was filming in Colombia, therefore, she couldn't possibly be at the Royal Rumble anyway. Now we know that she was simply trying to throw us off the scent.
After the women's Royal Rumble match had closed out the show and Asuka was standing in the ring with the two Women's Champions, the music hit and Rousey made her way to the ring. Being a lifelong fan of the late Roddy Piper, hence the Rowdy nickname, her video wall, and t-shirt resembled what the Hall of Famer had when he was a WWE Superstar.
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That's not the only way Rousey paid homage to her pro wrestling hero. You may have wondered why the newest addition to the WWE roster was wearing an ill-fitting leather jacket. Well, it's because the jacket actually belonged to Roddy Piper himself. The unique piece of clothing was gifted to her by Piper's son as revealed by ESPN writer Ramona Shelburne shortly after the closing segment during Sunday night's Royal Rumble.
Rousey is clearly not just an MMA star who is done with UFC looking for a new way to make a little money. She has loved pro wrestling her entire life and is realizing a dream by stepping between the ropes for WWE. Fans seem very split over her presence though, claiming that she took too much attention away from Asuka on Sunday night, the winner of the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match.
Whether you like the idea of Rousey in WWE is immaterial. She is there and if the comments she made after the Rumble are anything to go by then she is here to stay. The higher-ups at WWE won't care if you like her or not either. The former UFC star is already doing her job by drawing a lot of eyes and a lot of attention to the product, in many cases attention that wouldn't otherwise be focused on WWE at all.