WWE Rumors: Former Champion Reportedly Has Backstage Heat
Social media has been used by wrestlers to fuel storylines plenty of times in the past. Since it’s no secret that wrestling rivalries are mostly an act, social media is a useful tool for making fans believe that there is genuine heat between performers at times, which often makes rivalries more interesting. However, according to a new report by Sportskeeda, Ronda Rousey has legitimate backstage heat following her recent comments about WWE and its fans.
While several superstars have lashed out at Rousey following her comments, some fans and pundits speculated that it was all part of a work. According to the report, however, all of the criticism from WWE superstars that’s being directed at the UFC Hall of Famer this weekend is reportedly 100 percent sincere.
The drama stems from Rousey’s recent appearance on Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast. During the interview, the former MMA star said that she won’t return as a full-time performer because the fans didn’t appreciate her efforts while she was a member of the company.
She also said that wrestling is fake, which drew the ire of Lana, Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax, who have been among the most vocal WWE personnel to criticize Rousey, as they believe her comments were disrespectful to superstars whose careers have ended due to injury.
.@RondaRousey is picking @BeckyLynchWWE apart on #RAW! pic.twitter.com/OTC0faR93L
— WWE (@WWE) March 5, 2019
The Wrestling Observer Radio‘s Dave Meltzer also confirmed that nothing about the current situation is a work. As quoted by Ringside News, the journalist claimed that Rousey’s frustration with WWE fans can be traced back to a specific match, and the crowd reaction toward her during it rubbed her the wrong way.
“It’s not a work. I knew when the Los Angeles fans booed Ronda Rousey and when that Charlotte Flair angle happened. Where Charlotte Flair turned heel on her and they all cheered for Charlotte Flair and they were chanting ‘you deserve it’ when Charlotte beat the hell out of her and she took that beating to get the angle over so the fans would have something believable and the fans changed ‘you deserve it at her.’ I knew that at that point everything changed.”
Rousey has doubled down on her comments since then. As The Inquisitr reported earlier, she addressed her critics by saying that calling wrestling real is an insult to the combat sports athletes who actually fight for a living, and claimed that some WWE stars have bruised egos.
It remains to be seen if Rousey will return to WWE after this. If she does, though, she might not have any friends left in the locker room.
