WWE News: WWE Hall Of Famer Throws Shade At Ronda Rousey For Using Roddy Piper’s Gimmick
Despite concerns that Ronda Rousey wouldn’t be able to make a successful transition from mixed martial arts to pro wrestling, many fans and colleagues believe she proved her doubters wrong with a strong showing at WrestleMania 34. She has, however, apparently earned the ire of WWE Hall of Famer “Superstar” Billy Graham, who took to Facebook earlier this week to comment on her use of the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper’s gimmick and the rumored idea for the finish of her pro wrestling debut match at WrestleMania.
Although Graham’s criticism of Rousey was posted on Facebook on Monday, it was only in the coming days that wrestling publications such as Wrestling Inc. picked up on his remarks. Graham started by blasting Ronda for having an unoriginal gimmick, which includes wearing a T-shirt, leather jacket, and ring gear associated with WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper, who has long been credited as one of Rousey’s favorite wrestlers while growing up.
“I find it a total insult and absolutely reveals that she does not have an original thought in her head,” wrote “Superstar” Billy Graham in a post titled “Ronda Lousy vs. HHH.”
“Damn, can’t she be an original at anything? This shows you how shallow she is, and by the way, I am a fan of females being in the main event.”
In the second half of his anti-Ronda Rousey post, which also included an image of Amanda Nunes knocking Rousey out at UFC 207, Graham discussed a previous rumor that touched on the finish of the mixed tag team match at WrestleMania 34, where Rousey and Kurt Angle defeated the husband-and-wife team of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. As noted by Wrestling Inc., the rumor came from Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer, who wrote that the plan was supposedly for Ronda to make Triple H, and not Stephanie, submit to her armbar.
“WHAT??? Miss Lousy was going to make [Triple H] tap out??? This would have been received as well as a cement truck full of pig s*** being dumped on the [WrestleMania 34] fans.”
Billy Graham Rips Ronda Rousey For Using Roddy Piper’s Gimmick https://t.co/HKtAs60UMe pic.twitter.com/xxwOmOCoPM
— eWrestlingNews.com (@ewrestlingnews) April 17, 2018
Graham concluded his post by saying that Ronda Rousey is a “female ex-UFC failure” who got knocked out twice in her last two fights, first to Holly Holm at UFC 193, then to Nunes at UFC 207. He called the rumored ideas for her WrestleMania match “nauseating” and asked fans to complain about the push WWE is currently giving Rousey, which many believe might lead to her becoming one of the company’s top female wrestlers at some point in the coming months.
“Superstar” Billy Graham’s remarks about Ronda Rousey do not come without precedent. His real-life issues with Chris Jericho have been well-documented through the years, as he told Slam Sports Wrestling in 2011 that he’d “spit on [Jericho’s] grave” for comments he made about him in one of his autobiographies. During that same interview, he also “demanded” that WWE remove him from the Hall of Fame because of the induction of hardcore wrestling pioneer Abdullah the Butcher, whom he called a “bloodthirsty animal” who hadn’t even wrestled a single match for the company.
