Jim Ross Says Ronda Rousey’s In-Ring Debut Was The Most Impactful He’s Ever Seen

– Jim Ross spoke with MMAjunkie for a new interview discussing Ronda Rousey’s WrestleMania 34 match and more. Highlights are below:

On Ronda Rousey’s in-ring debut at WrestleMania: “I thought that Ronda’s debut was the most impactful pro wrestling debut that I have seen in my 40-plus year career.”

On the pressure Rousey had to deal with: “If you look at her skill set, experience-wise, from this genre in pro wrestling, it was almost non-existent. But she had so much pressure on her. The hype was amazing. The expectations were mixed. Some die-hard wrestling fans don’t even like her being there, which is absolutely insane. They are [sic] and goofy, no doubt about that. So, I was absolutely blown away by what she did and how she executed. She looked like an athlete; we knew she is an athlete. She’s a winner. Now look, some say, well, she lost her last two fights. Kiss my ass. How’s that? C’mon. She won a lot of fights, guys. You know what I mean? She’s a winner. She goes to the Olympics and medals. She’s a winner. So I knew that she was not going to drop the ball.”

On the importance of the match being at WrestleMania: “It’s WrestleMania, guys. If you’re an MMA fan, then you say, ‘Well, what does it matter? It’s still pro wrestling.’ There was almost 80,000 people there. … She had so much pressure at this massive event, it would’ve been very easy for her to slip the bit and not have a great outing.”

On Rousey’s potential: “If she continues to train as diligently and as ferociously as she has been. The sky’s the limit for her. She can be really, really good.”