Ronda Rousey Says Pro Wrestling Isn’t A Sport, Calls It An ‘Intense Performance’

During an interview with Steve-O’s Wild Ride (via Fightful, Ronda Rousey gave her thoughts on whether pro wrestling was a sport and she described as a ‘very intense performance.’ According to Rousey, it’s not a sport.

She said: “It’s scripted. Mostly. There is a general idea. They are working together. I like to relate it to figure skating. Two people together creating a performance. As Shayna [Shayna Baszler] likes to say, there is no fake way to take a chairshot. You’re actually getting hit with a chair. It’s also not a competition. A lot of wrestlers and stuff will be like, ‘Wrestling is real. I got this injury or that injury.’ I’m like, okay, as a competitor in an actual sport, I’m never worried about getting injured. I’m worried about losing. That’s the most stressful part of it. Injuries are not at all what you’re thinking about. That’s not what makes it real or makes it hard. It’s the uncertainty of the outcome. When people are like, ‘it’s a real sport.’ No, it’s not a sport. It’s a very intense performance, which I have a lot of respect for, but it’s not a sport. If you’ve ever dealt with the stress and anxiety that comes with competition, you can’t take that out and call it a sport. It’s so tough. It’s very physical, but it’s not a sport.”