RONDA ROUSEY owned 2015.
She was the unbeaten, indestructible champion of women’s UFC, a pop culture icon with a budding Hollywood career.
The ‘most dangerous woman on the planet’ appeared on the front of magazines, was one of the best-paid female athletes in any sport – and was even the third most Googled person in the whole world.
An Olympic bronze medallist in Judo in 2008, Rousey was now a global sex symbol, appearing naked for ESPN and Sports Illustrated as well as being named one of the sexiest women in the world.
Rousey’s endorsement deals ran in the millions and only tennis icon Serena Williams could challenge her athletic dominance, and marketability.
In the US she was a bigger star than either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi.
She appeared in TV shows, hosted long-running comedy institution Saturday Night Live and had significant roles in The Expendables, Furious 7 and the Entourage movie.
It seemed like nothing could stop her.
But then Rousey suffered a shock defeat to Holly Holm, losing not only her unbeaten record and UFC title, but her aura of invincibility.
Critics said her extra-curricular activities had left her distracted and even turned her soft.
After a year out of the fight game Rousey returned, more focused than ever, she claimed… and lost inside a minute after a stunning flurry of punches by Amanda Nunes.
Rousey spent most of 2016 and then 2017 licking her wounds.
She may have earned $3million in that TKO defeat to Nunes (who earned $100,000) but her aura was lost.
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Her omnipresence quickly fell away.
Rousey was barely seen in public until her Venice Beach house, where she lives with husband Travis Browne and her two step-kids, was burgled and vandalised, huge black graffiti appearing on an exterior wall, in the summer.
Her MMA career seemed unclear with UFC president Dana White, who placed the success of the women’s divisions on Rousey’s shoulders, believing she had retired.
But while Rousey was away she was plotting a sensational move to the world of WWE.
Although the news that Rousey has joined the WWE on a full-time, two-year contract will have shocked many fight fans, it’s been a relationship long in the making.
She had always been a fan of pro wrestling, even earning the nickname ‘Rowdy’ after one of her favourite stars, Roddy Piper.
At the start of her MMA career friends wanted her to use the nickname professionally but she initially refused out of respect to the WWE legend.
Eventually she met with Piper (through Gene LeBell, who coached both Rousey and Piper) and Hot Rod gave her his blessing to take on the nickname.
When Piper died in 2015, the next night Rousey dedicated her win over Bethe Correia to his memory.
Her first appearance came way back at SummerSlam 2014, when the Four Horsewomen were born, a faction with Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir.
Rousey then made a memorable appearance at WrestleMania 31, in a segment with WWE legends The Rock, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Sitting in the crowd, The Rock beckoned her into the ring before she threw both Triple H and Stephanie out of the ring and onto the floor, with the crowd going wild.
She didn’t appear again until July 2016, again with the Four Horsewomen at the Mae Young Classic.
This time the other Four Horsewomen (Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Sasha Banks) were in the ring and a staredown ensued.
Rumours that Rousey would appear at the Royal Rumble have been swirling for months, after numerous reports that the MMA star had been training at the WWE Performance Centre in Florida.
Most expected her to take part in the Rumble as a guest or as a gimmick – much as Donald Trump, Mike Tyson and dozens of others have done in the past.
What nobody expected is for Rousey to come out at the end of the night and reveal that she had signed a full-time deal.
“This is my life now, Rousey told ESPN. “First priority on my timeline for the next several years.
“This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt.
“When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.'”
Rousey will likely be the highest paid woman on the WWE roster, but her earnings will not be astronomical (by her standards).
Nikki Bella is currently the best-paid female star in the WWE, earning around $400,000 annually.
Rousey is going to be paid more than that, but probably well short of her UFC earnings – where she was getting $1million-per-fight in recent years.
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Rousey can expect the WWE to help her re-ignite her career as a pop culture icon.
She already boasts 24million followers on social media – Serena Williams (23million) and Maria Sharapova (26million) are the only female athletes in that stratosphere.
The move into pro wrestling will only make her more popular.
She’s currently filming Mile 22 alongside Mark Wahlberg and directed by action film auteur Peter Berg.
Rousey is also slated to play the lead role in a remake of Patrick Swazye 80s classic Road House.
The last couple of years may have been quiet for Rousey, but 2018 will be hers once more.
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