Ronda Rousey has signed with WWE. I repeat, Ronda Rousey has signed with WWE.
Ronda Rousey showed up to the Royal Rumble this past Sunday in Philadelphia with her customary theme song, brand new Rowdy t-shirts, sauntered to the ring with a big smile on her face and pointed to the Wrestlemania sign.
And with that, WWE now employs 2 of the only 3 UFC fighters in history to main even over 1 million pay per view buys. This is a massive signing for WWE, and is going to bring in a ton of new viewers to their product. Rousey has the upside and potential as a crossover star as none other than The Rock.
Think about it, aside perhaps John Cena, Ronda Rousey is now WWE's most recognizable star. With WWE fully committed to the "Women's Revolution" the sky is the absolute limit. This year alone, there has been the first ever women's Money in the Bank match, the first ever women's Royal Rumble, and the first women's Elimination Chamber is next. After that, I expect the women to main event Wrestlemania, and countless episodes of Monday Night Raw. WWE has really positioned itself to capitalize on the #metoo movement and wave of momentum for women in entertainment today.
It remains to be seen what kind of talent Ronda will be in the ring (will she be more Kurt Angle...or Daniel Puder?), but we know she can work a crowd, handle a microphone, generate cheers and boos in equal measure, and most importantly, act as an ambassador for an entire sport.
Ramona Shelburne of ESPN has all of the details here: http://www.espn.com/wwe/story/_/id/22253621/ronda-rousey-ready-next-career-wwe