Ronda Rousey is less than two weeks away from her first title shot in WWE, so it’s only appropriate to bring up that one time Jonathan Coachman tweeted that she would “NEVER” be in WWE. On Dec. 31, 2016 – mere hours after Rousey lost her final UFC fight to Amanda Nunes by TKO – a fan tweeted that Rousey “could still be a big name in wrestling absolutely.”
However, Coach was having none of it. “Michael listen to me,” he tweeted. “It will NEVER happen. They are not in the business of bringing in a broken star and rebuilding her.”
Michael listen to me. It will NEVER happen. They are not in the business of bringing in a broken star and rebuilding her. https://t.co/JUOAVig2ov
— The Coach (@TheCoachrules) December 31, 2016
Yikes – that’s pretty harsh. But, to be fair, as a then-former WWE employee, Coach knew more about the inner workings of Vince McMahon’s company than most sports commentators.
Then again, rebuilding a broken UFC star is exactly what WWE did with Brock Lesnar – which is precisely what people told Coach at the time.
https://twitter.com/JoshIsenberg4/status/815082961229979648
it's almost the EXACT same thing, lol. WWE rebuilt him into The Beast Incarnate after he got destroyed in UFC.
— iDIE (@tef0ak) December 31, 2016
Well, that’s certainly awkward, considering how things have panned out. Even more awkward: Coach’s return to WWE in 2018 was more unexpected than Rousey’s signing.
Awkward.
— Ringside News (@ringsidenews_) June 4, 2018
Will Jonathan Coachman Eat Crow(chman)?
As embarrassing as this is for Coach in retrospect, however, at the time of his tweet Rousey’s jump to pro wrestling was pure speculation. After all, she’d only just lost what would be her final fight in UFC, and afterward, she went into hibernation for months.
Also, I don’t have much room to talk myself. If you’ve followed my writing about Rousey on this site, you know that I was slow to warm up to the idea of her being in WWE. To be honest, I’m still warming up to it. In my opinion, WWE not only jumped the gun by handing her a title shot so soon but they also poorly handled the way in which the match was set up; at least make the match on Raw, not on the red carpet for some event that fans can’t even recall.
Then again, isn’t that all to blame on writing and not Rousey?
Whatever the case, Jonathan Coachman and everyone else who doubted Rousey was wrong, and WWE is reaping the benefits now.
Did you think we’d ever see Ronda Rousey in WWE?
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Categorized: Ringside Intel Sports Wrestling