Meltzer: WWE wants to do Rousey vs. McMahon
This morning Dave Meltzer speculated on the possibility of Rousey returning to the WWE and what implications that could have on both the UFC and WWE.
Last Sunday UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey appeared in ring at WrestleMania, in defense of The Rock, vs. The Authority- HHH and Stephanie McMahon. In a few hours on Sunday, Rousey got over 100,000 searches, more than Undertaker, more than The Rock, and more than Brock Lesnar,
At next year’s WrestleMania, the WWE wants to announce they had 100,000 spectators (true or not) beating the (true or not) record of 93,173 set in 1987 for Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant match at the Pontiac Silverdome.
To do that, they have to reach back into their history for figures like The Rock, and to celebrities outside the WWE, like Ronda Rousey.
Because the UFC and WWE are competitors to some extent, there has historically been little interest by the WWE in using figures from the UFC, not even Jon Jones, whose management reached out to the world’s dominant rasslin league. Nor is the UFC keen on it’s stars entering the squared circle.
Dave Meltzer knows more about the combined world’s of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts than any person ever. He not just the right person to talk about the WWE’s plans for Rousey, he is the only person.
While there was only an agreement in place for this one appearance, sources in WWE confirm that is not the idea.
WWE sources say the idea is two singles matches, meaning Rousey vs. McMahon is the match they are looking at doing.
There are some huge issues involved.
When Vince McMahon tried to put together Brock Lesnar vs. The Undertaker at the 2011 WrestleMania, Dana White nixed the match. Historically, the UFC has sent mixed messages about participating in pro wrestling.
The positive from a UFC standpoint is that Rousey will expand her celebrityhood. To do a match that high profile she’d also have to appear on WWE television, which reaches millions of viewers each week and she would be promoted like crazy for the last month or so before the show. That, in theory, means creating more fans who may be interested in buying her pay-per-views. That was one of the reasons Floyd Mayweather Jr. made a similar move in 2008.
There are reasons UFC would not want its top star doing pro wrestling that high profile, particularly if she’s still an active champion at that point. There is marketplace confusion and even credibility questions to a portion of society that still doesn’t connect that MMA really is.
And, even though not real sport, the injury risk in doing pro wrestling is very real. The UFC frowns on its fighters riding motorcycles. But performing in pro wrestling is infinitely more dangerous.
Rousey’s appearance wasn’t advertised, so it didn’t sell pay-per-views or live tickets. It was clearly designed for a payoff, not as the payoff. When Rousey grabbed Stephanie McMahon at the end of the segment, she didn’t take her down, and she didn’t put her in an armbar, which would be the money spot. That was clearly being saved for a match.
Read entire article at MMAFighting.com…
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