Heading into WrestleMania 34, there was plenty of discussion among WWE fans as to what could be the match of the night and end up stealing the show. It came as no surprise that right off the bat, the dream match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura was the one many believed was going to leave everyone talking.
It did, but for different reasons as The King of Strong Style turned heel after his loss, hitting Styles with an epic low blow after he retained his WWE Championship.
WRESTLEMANIA 34
In the end, the general feeling is that the SmackDown Women’s Championship match between Charlotte Flair and Asuka took home the award for the match of the night as The Queen ended The Empress’ unbeaten streak in the second match of the main card.
However, all of the eyes were rightfully on Ronda Rousey as the world wanted to see whether she would sink or swim. The fact that her in-ring debut was taking place at the Grandest Stage of Them All in front of over 75,000 fans with legends like Kurt Angle, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in the match only cranked up the pressure even more.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet went on to have arguably the greatest WrestleMania debut of all time. The feeling was that she’d spend most of the time on the apron and only come in for a handful of big spots, allowing Angle to carry her throughout. Instead, the opposite happened as Rousey looked like the veteran in there and surprised everyone with her brilliant performance.
Now, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has revealed that officials and pretty much everyone else backstage were left very impressed with three things the former UFC star showcased in that match.
Despite training for her WrestleMania 34 match for months prior to the event along with a year of general wrestling training under her belt, people backstage came away impressed with the footwork and movement she displayed in that match, her impressive angry facial expressions along with her overall athletic ability.
GOOD REVIEWS
While her move-set is still limited, for now, she certainly looked a natural in that ring and didn’t just deliver the countless judo throws people thought she would. She never looked out of her element once and every move looked crisp thanks to the brilliant co-ordination she displayed in great confidence.
Her facial expressions have largely drawn a lot of praise thanks to her ability to go from all smiles and simply happy to be in a WWE ring to a savage look where you’d want to escape the ring in an instant.
The storytelling throughout the match was also great, as the armbar had been talked about for so long before she locked it in to give her team the win.
So, it’s a great start that she received a positive review backstage, because who would have thought Rousey would even reverse a Pedigree into a hurricanrana in her first ever match?
What did you make of Ronda Rousey’s performance at WrestleMania 34? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.