By Glenn Schouw
Johannesburg — Mike Tyson punched out the line that he was the “Baddest Man on the Planet” and he was.
And now we have the return of the Baddest Woman on the Planet. Yes, the 34-year-old Ronda Rousey has returned to WWE – and is this year’s women’s Royal Rumble winner.
This was her first Royal Rumble title and it secured her a Championship Match of her choice at WrestleMania.
The eagerly awaited Royal Rumble took place at the Dome at America’s Centre in St Louis.
Rousey was one of the final female superstars to enter the Royal Rumble match.
THE ROWDY ONE IS BACK.@RondaRousey is in the #RoyalRumble Match!!! pic.twitter.com/qUEHGwMlhn
— WWE (@WWE) January 30, 2022
Rousey dominated the ring and quickly secured her place at WrestleMania 38 in April after defeating the Bella Twins, Shotzi and WWE Smackdown Woman’s Champion, Charlotte Flair.
This means she has secured a Championship Match of her choice at WrestleMania 38 scheduled from AT&T Stadium in Dallas on April 3-4.
This victory was a hell of feat for Rousey considering she had been out of the game for three years due to the birth of her daughter.
The last time Rousey was in action, she was pinned by Becky Lynch in a triple-treat match with Flair at WrestleMania 35 in 2019.
WWE have recognised she still has magnetic appeal with fans and the script writers are already working as she is destined for a significant run.
She is now part of the RAW brand and is already set to participate in next year’s WrestleMania.
In upcoming WrestleMania, the odds are favourable she will face Flair, daughter of the legendary Rick – famous in the ring but light years away from that status out the ring.
He claims to have been kept warm by over a thousand women.
No surprise then that the 72-year-old Rick announced his fifth divorce yesterday.
The one upside of Rousey getting paired with Flair is that it leaves Lynch open for a match with Belair.
"The EST" is the only woman on the Raw roster who has been positioned as a legitimate threat lately and a win over Lynch gives her the chance to redeem what happened back at SummerSlam
The WWE Universe wait all year for Royal Rumble, an event that is nearly on par with WrestleMania.
The crowd erupted as spectators witnessed exceptional performances from their favourite WWE Superstars.
From unexpected returns and entries into the Royal Rumble matches to the seemingly “unbeatable” being defeated, Royal Rumble was indeed a true clash of the titans.
Here is a rundown about what took place, apart from Rousey’s achievement.
Becky Lynch ran into arguably her biggest challenge to date against Doudrop.
The intimidating Superstar stunned the champion but she lived up to her Big Time Becks moniker by rising to the challenge and overcoming her rival to remain the undefeated Raw Women’s Champion.
Brock Lesnar’s Royal Rumble was a roller-coaster of challenges.
In his WWE Championship against Bobbly Lashley, there was a surprise attack from Roman Reigns, who accepted his Championship win through a disqualification against Seth Rollins.
Lashley capitalised on Reigns’ attack to conquer Lesnar and reclaim the WWE Championship.
However, that didn’t stop Lesnar as he shocked the WWE Universe as the No. 30 entrant of the Royal Rumble match, eliminating all remaining superstars to win his second Royal Rumble and punch his ticket to WrestleMania.
A rivalry that has been brewing since SummerSlam 2021 is potentially back on the cards between Reigns and Lesnar. However, could we see a triple-threat match between Reigns, Lashley and Lesnar for a winner takes all title match at WrestleMania?
Don’t miss the weekly build-ups at SmackDown and Raw, live on DStv SuperSport Channel 128.
IOL Sport