Jordan Huie of the Overtimer here to keep this mini-series rolling! The 2020 Royal Rumble is upon us tonight ladies and gentlemen! Big-time tradition! 30 men and 30 women in huge matches! No matter how many times I talk about it, that all remains true! This mini-series rages on, all week I’ve been detailing the chances of victory for all the Rumble favorites! Ten for the men and ten for the women! We’re in the home stretch of it now and what better time to talk about “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey herself?
Ronda Rousey – Relevant Stats
- WWE Debut: 2018
- First Rumble appearance: N/A
- She has never won a Rumble match.
- This would be her first Rumble appearance.
- She has amassed zero total eliminations.
- She is a one-time Raw Women’s Champion.
- Current betting odds: +400
How 2019 Went For Ronda Rousey:
I’ve said it before and I’ll definitely say it again: it’s amazing how fast things change in wrestling. It’s actually kinda hard to believe that less than a year ago, Ronda Rousey was the WWE Raw Women’s Champion. It just feels like so much has happened since then, it seems like so much longer ago than it really is. Atleast, for me, it sure does. The whole landscape was altered a ton in the last twelve months, that’s for damn sure.
Either way, Ronda entered the year as a dominant champion. She appeared rarely but usually schooled the hell out of whoever she was against when she did show up. Rousey defeated Sasha Banks to retain her title at the Royal Rumble, then defeated the likes of Bayley and Ruby Riott to maintain her grip on the gold. As this was going on, Becky Lynch, winner of the 2019 Women’s Royal Rumble, was hot on her tail.
Charlotte got into the mix herself and the result was a triple threat for both the Raw and SmackDown Women’s titles. And in a truly historic moment, those three women met in the main event of WrestleMania. At the end of the match, in a moment that seemed somewhat botched, Becky ended up pinning Rousey’s shoulders to the mat in a cradle to come away with all the gold.
We have not seen hide nor hair of Ronda in WWE in the nine months since that day.
The likes of Stephanie McMahon and Triple H have frequently been asked when Ronda’s coming back and they’ve always given vague answers. Rousey herself has done basically the same. The tone of the replies tend to be that she’ll probably be back at some point, but it might not be anytime soon. Nevertheless, speculation comes up about her every now and again and it’s especially ramping up now. The Rumble has a lengthy history of major surprise returns after all.
So where does that leave her chances?
It’s an interesting question. Because what it really boils down to is less “Do you think she’ll win?” and more “Do you think she’ll be back?” As things stand, Vegas has her as the second most likely winner. And frankly, the only reason she isn’t number one is because we’re not certain she’ll even be there. If I just knew for a fact that Rousey was coming back tonight, I’d surely pick her as the winner.
But to be honest, I wouldn’t be at all shocked if she simply wasn’t there at all. While there’s plenty of speculation, I don’t think there’s really any solid evidence that it’s happening. I don’t even know if she’s been in talks to come back, let alone made anything official. This is not to discount the possibility, it could well just be a heavily guarded secret. With how glaringly few women have actually been announced for the match (only seven as of this writing) you can bet we’ll see plenty of unexpected names.
If Rousey is coming back tonight, I sure don’t think she’s doing it just to get tossed.
What would her story be?
This one’s as simple and clean as it gets. Becky Lynch defeated her at Mania last year and she’s been seething ever since, so despondent as to totally leave the WWE for the past nine months. But even though she got pinned, ultimately that was in a triple threat with Charlotte involved. So this time around, she’ll want to face Becky one-on-one, the match a lot of people wanted last year anyway.
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