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Ronda Rousey left WWE following her match against Shayna Baszler at SummerSlam last year. Since then, she’s been openly critical of her time with the company, sharing a lot of negative remarks about WWE. In fact, an ex-WWE star agrees with Ronda Rousey dismissing pro wrestling as a legitimate physical sport.
Ronda Rousey dismissed professional wrestling as a legitimate sport and labeled it as two people only putting up a physical performance during an interview with Steve O’s Wild Ride.
“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.”
In the latest episode of The Wrestling Outlaws, EC3, the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, discussed Ronda Rousey’s recent comments about wrestling being more of an intense performance than a sport. He agreed with Rousey, explaining that wrestling, unlike traditional sports, is not about actual competition where athletes compete to win.
EC3 mentioned that while there are rumors and speculation about the UFC manipulating results for business reasons, wrestling is ultimately a performance with predetermined outcomes.
“Of course, she [Ronda Rousey] is right. It’s not a sport. A sport dictates it’s a competition where you’re legitimately competing against each other. I don’t want to get into the rumors and innuendo that UFC has pulled some strings and manufactured results for better business, but she’s 100% right in that sense. It’s the most intense performance one can do. The physicality is real, we are athletes, it is athletic and the risks are super high and more so that majority of sports. I don’t know how many people were going around the WWE locker room, saying to Ronda Rousey who is a UFC Champion that this is a real sport, and maybe she’s embellishing one person’s opinion, but she is correct. It is a very intense performance.”
EC3 pointed out that wrestling is one of the most intense performances an athlete can undertake. He acknowledged that the physicality is real, and wrestlers are indeed athletes, but emphasized that the risks in wrestling are higher than in most sports. He noted that the real competition in wrestling lies not in the outcomes of matches, but in the rivalry among peers for spots and opportunities. On top of that, he remarked that the toughest competition is often internal, as performers must contend with the mental wear and tear that comes with the profession.
“The competition though lies not within what you do in the ring and the wins and losses but competing with your peers for spots and opportunities. The really toughest part of it is the competition you have with yourself and the mental wear and tear.”
Ronda Rousey has also retired from professional wrestling for good, but has been labeled bitter woman for her anti-WWE remarks. Nevertheless, Rousey doesn’t care what others have to say about her and that is all that matters.
Do you also agree with what Ronda Rousey had to say regarding professional wrestling? Sound off in the comments section below!