The major news coming out of WWE over the past few weeks has been Ronda Rousey signing full-time with the company. Ronda’s appearance at the Royal Rumble received a fair bit of mainstream attention from those outside of the wrestling business.
Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscribe here), reports that there is a “key reason” why Ronda was brought into WWE.
Meltzer says that a key reason for Ronda in WWE is to help make Stephanie McMahon into more of a mainstream star.
Stephanie is a major name within the context of the wrestling business but not outside if it. Ronda, on the other hand, is a major sports star. Even though she didn’t fight in 2017, Meltzer says that she was still the single most searched female athlete in the U.S for the year.
The goal of the Stephanie-Ronda program will be to help make Stephanie into a bigger star outside of the world of pro-wrestling. Meltzer made the comparison to what helped make Vince McMahon into a big star. That would be his program with ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin- who became a big star after his angle with Mike Tyson.
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This is why they want a high-profile match at Wrestlemania for Ronda’s debut. The rumor from last week was Ronda and a partner vs Triple H and Stephanie. WWE would obviously want the Rock in this spot if they can get him for extra mainstream buzz.
Meltzer says that the financial reasons for bringing Ronda in are secondary.