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WWE News: Ronda Rousey Talks Overcoming Speech Disorders, Possibly Turning Heel, Me-Too Movement, & ‘Mile 22’

By Carter Lee
Published on: 11:24 PST, Aug 17, 2018

Between promoting her recently released action film co-starring Mark Wahlberg, Mile 22, and preparing for her WWE championship match at SummerSlam, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey has been a very busy person. USA Today recently talked with the WWE superstar, giving Rousey the opportunity to discuss overcoming apraxia, Mile 22, the me-too movement, WWE fans, and possibly playing a heel one day.

When Ronda Rousey appears in a film, such as The Expendables 3, she is usually shown doing what she does best — fighting people with her bare fists. However, in Mile 22 Rousey portrays Sam Snow, a sharpshooter serving as a key member of a special forces team. “Rowdy” Ronda told USA Today what it was like to portray a character not known for her hand-to-hand fighting skills.

“I just love that [director] Pete Berg had so much confidence in me that he didn’t want me leaning on my fight background. He wanted me to show people that I have more to offer than just that.”

The WWE superstar added that Berg originally wanted her to shave her head and cover Rousey with tattoos, making her completely unrecognizable, so that moviegoers would be shocked and surprised. “Rowdy” Ronda said that Pantene, the hair care line she promotes, didn’t like that idea. Rousey also revealed that she knew Mark Wahlberg as an actor, and she was surprised to learn that he used to rap under the moniker of Marky Mark.

When asked what was the most difficult aspect that she had faced thus far as a professional wrestler, Ronda Rousey gave a heartfelt answer. The WWE superstar revealed that she grew up with apraxia, a motor speech disorder. Rousey said she went through years of speech therapy, and that she always had problems slurring or mispronouncing her words.

Rousey said that in the WWE, it’s very important that she speaks clearly, so that it’s easy for fans to understand her — and that she can’t falter at all. She remarked that the pressure makes her more nervous and more likely to mispronounce words. “Rowdy” Ronda added that it has been a great experience for her to be able to work on it and overcome the fears she’s had since she was a little kid. Ronda Rousey has been an inspiration for millions of her fans, and candidly sharing her fears and her story of overcoming apraxia will likely inspire many more.

Ever since Ronda Rousey arrived in the WWE, fans have welcomed her with open arms. The WWE superstar told USA Today that she expected everyone to boo her out of the building from day one. “Rowdy” Ronda added that every time she walks out there, she feels like she’s just falling in love with every single person at once. Rousey remarked that it would be fun for her to one day turn heel — but it’s addicting to have all that positivity from fans.

USA Today asked Ronda Rousey if female athletes are seeing the effects of the me-too movement, and Ronda Rousey said that she doesn’t have that much experience with the movement.

“To be honest, I don’t really have that much experience with the #MeToo movement. I notice that men and women seem almost less comfortable around each other since the movement, because everyone’s afraid to have one person (post) one wrong tweet about them. I think it’d be less likely for a male director and a female actor to go out and have lunch just to talk about the movie. It’s almost putting this fear and distrust in people, [and] what trial by Twitter has really done is keep people apart. Everyone has to hang out in a group now. Maybe that’s safer, or maybe that’s better.”

Ronda Rousey challenges Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam for the Raw Women’s Championship on Sunday, August 19, at 7 p.m. EST on pay-per-view and the WWE Network.

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