Ronda Rousey has angered the professional-wrestling world after describing the sport as "fake fights for fun".
Rousey made the comments while appearing on Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast, where the pair discussed Rousey's stint in WWE, the fans, and what it would take for her to return to the ring.
During her time in the WWE, Rousey wrestled on the Raw brand, where she reigned as Raw Women's Champion for 231 days, before dropping the belt to current champion Becky Lynch in the main event of WrestleMania 35 last April.
Related - Rousey also recently came under fire for "bragging" about her self-sufficient home amid the coronavirus crisis:
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Speaking to the former Jackass star about her stint in WWE, the former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion said:
"I love the WWE. I had such a great time. I love all the girls in the locker room. Running out there and having fake fights for fun is just the best thing. I love choreography. I love acting. I love theater.
"Live theater and some of the last forms of live theatre. But, I was doing basically part-time and I was away from home 200 days out of the year. And when I did get home, I was so sleep deprived cause you just don’t have time to lay down."
However, fans and wrestlers alike took umbrage to Rousey's comments, including former WWE Raw women's champion Nia Jax, who threatened to "knock out" Rousey if she ever did decide to return to the squared circle. Jax, real name Savelina Fanene, tweeted:
"I can’t wait for Ronda 2 one day return 2 WWE. Even if WWE orders me to make Ronda look good in the ring, which is the ONLY way for Ronda 2 look good in the ring w/me. I’ll risk my job 2 go down in history as the one from this biz that knocked her the F**K out! #TestMeBitch"
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But the tweets didn't end there, as many pro-wrestlers and fans took aim at Rousey for her degrading comments:
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However, after receiving backlash for her comments, Rousey doubled-down on her beliefs, and made it clear she didn't care about "bruising some pro wrestlers’ huge soft egos". She wrote in a statement:
"Anyone who is outraged by me calling pro wrestling 'fake fights for fun' has never been in a REAL fight.
"While you all are tiptoeing around bruising some pro wrestlers’ huge soft egos – no one is thinking about all the REAL fighters you’re insulting when pretending pro wrestling is somehow on the same level of realism.
"Yes, I understand, wrestling 300 days a year for years on end is incredibly tough on the body and a difficult profession – but do you know what would happen if you got in 300 REAL fights in a year? You would be dead."
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Rousey captioned the post with the hashtag "kayfabe killer". ("Kayfabe" is the portrayal of staged events within the wrestling industry that are depicted as "real" or "true".)
Rousey labels wrestling fans as 'f***ing ungrateful':
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But Ronda's comments on the performance aspect of pro-wrestling were not the only thing to anger the fans. During her interview with Steve-O, Rousey went on to describe wrestling fanatics as "f***ing ungrateful" for not appreciating her work. She said:
"We didn’t need the money. So it’s just like, what am I doing it for if I’m not being able to spend my time and energy on my family, but instead spending my time and energy on a bunch of f***ing ungrateful fans that don’t even appreciate me.
"I love performing. I love the (wrestling) girls. I love being out there, but at the end of the day I was just like, 'F*** these fans, dude'. My family loves me and they appreciate me. I want all my energy to go into them. So that was my decision at the end of the day."
Is Rousey riling up the fans for an inevitable return to the ring, or is she done with wrestling? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section...