WWE News: Real Reason Ronda Rousey Missed ‘Raw’ Last Night
Ronda Rousey made her long-awaited WWE debut as a full-time competitor at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on Sunday night. In Rousey’s debut, she walked out after the women’s Royal Rumble match and interrupted the celebration with Asuka standing between the two women’s champions, Charlotte and Alexa Bliss. Rousey then pointed at the WrestleMania banner and tried to unsuccessfully shake Asuka’s hand. Ronda then went down and shook Stephanie McMahon’s hand – someone she stood face-to-face with at WrestleMania two years ago in a surprise appearance. However, Rousey was a no-show on Monday Night Raw last night, and Sportskeeda reports that there was a very good reason for her absence.
Why Didn’t Ronda Rousey Follow Up Her Royal Rumble Appearance
Before the WWE Royal Rumble took place, Ronda Rousey was one of the top choices of odds-makers to win the actual women’s match itself. However, the weekend of the event saw Rousey fall from the top contender’s spot because of photos released that showed the former UFC Champion in Columbia shooting a movie.
Both Ronda Rousey and a makeup artist shared photos of Rousey in Columbia, with the makeup artist showing her working on Rousey in anticipation of shooting a scene. Those photos were not false. Ronda is down in Columbia shooting her movie, Mile 22, and she was there over the weekend for the filming.
Ronda Rousey flew back to Philadelphia and hid out until her surprise appearance at the end of the Royal Rumble match. The real reason that Rousey missed Monday Night Raw was that she flew right back to Columbia yesterday to continue filming Mile 22. Instead of Ronda Rousey appearing, the WWE just showed all the press coverage that her debut garnered.
Just like the rest of the @WWEUniverse, @RondaRousey's eyes are on #WrestleMania… #RAW #RoyalRumble pic.twitter.com/0IcniMgBzE
— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2018
What Can The WWE Universe Expect From Ronda Rousey?
Ronda Rousey is scheduled to shoot Mile 22 with co-star Mark Wahlberg and John Malkovich for most of February. Variety reports that Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) is directing the movie about a high-level U.S. intelligence officer asked to smuggle a police officer out of the country. Rousey and Wahlberg are the top-billed stars, so she won’t be around the WWE in February.
However, based on the storylines, that makes sense. It seems like Ronda Rousey will battle Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania this year while Asuka takes her shot at the women’s Monday Night Raw title. Last night on Raw, Stephanie McMahon came out and told Asuka to wait to choose her opponent until after Elimination Chamber because Alexa will put her title on the line in the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match.
This gives the WWE until the end of February to have Asuka make her decision, and then Ronda Rousey can possibly show up on SmackDown Live and challenge Charlotte after that decision is made. It is also a good bet to think that the WWE will position Charlotte and Ronda Rousey as the first-ever female main event at a WrestleMania show, continuing their efforts to make history with the women at every major event.
