Ronda Rousey Returns, Likely Will Be in WWE for at Least a Year

Ronda Rousey made her WWE return tonight, winning the women’s Royal Rumble match.

Rousey will be back for a “substantial run,” according to Dave Meltzer, not just the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania.

Meltzer said that he’s heard that Rousey’s deal is at least for the next year and potentially until next year’s WrestleMania.

The current plan for WrestleMania is Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, Meltzer said. Rousey eliminated Charlotte last in the Rumble to get a title shot at WrestleMania.

At one point, Rousey vs. Becky Lynch was being discussed, but WWE made a decision to put Rousey on the SmackDown roster instead. This could potentially mean that Rousey will face Lynch at next year’s WrestleMania instead.

The reason for putting her on SmackDown was partly to appease FOX, Meltzer added. When SmackDown first moved to FOX, the network expected to have both Rousey and Brock Lesnar as regulars on the show.

Though she’ll technically be part of the SmackDown roster, it’s expected that she’ll also make some appearances on Raw. WWE has already announced that Rousey will be on Raw this Monday.