Report: WWE wants Ronda Rousey vs. Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 32
By Geno Mrosko @cagesideseats on Apr 5, 2015, 2:43pm
When Ronda Rousey made a surprise appearance in an angle with The Rock, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 31 (a surprise to us, at least, but it was in the works for months), it appeared WWE was building to something bigger later on. The UFC women's bantamweight champion judo tossed Triple H, but when it came time to get physical with Stephanie she held back.
That's the set up for a payoff WWE hopes will come at WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016, in Arlington, Texas.
The assumption was the company would do a mixed tag team match, with Rousey teaming up with Rock to take on Triple H and Stephanie. But according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, they've actually got plans on a straight singles match between the two ladies:
"The whole thing is it's up to Dana (White) and her also, obviously, on whether she wants to do a match. Now, she has acted like she wants to do more. Everyone is saying it's not in her contract for anything more, and she's not under contract for anything more. But there is an understanding that she's going to do 'Mania next year. What I found out is that the idea is a singles match with Stephanie (McMahon) and not a mixed tag and not in the corners. It's a singles match, that is the idea. ... And it always was. This goes back to SummerSlam. They talked to her and she wanted to do it."
Considering Rousey is a huge star outside of professional wrestling -- she was the most searched for person on Google coming out of WrestleMania, beating out the likes of Brock Lesnar and Undertaker -- a match with Stephanie could be just what WWE needs to break its attendance record.
There are a number of issues at play, however.
First, UFC President Dana White has to agree to Rousey actually working a match. While he was obviously on board with her getting involved in an angle at WrestleMania 31, working a match is something else entirely. She is an undefeated champion and arguably the biggest star in White's promotion. Her risking injury while performing for another company is certain to give pause.
That's without mentioning the creative issues at play. Is WWE really going to book Rousey to come in and destroy McMahon? Pro wrestling is entirely separate from MMA but Rousey has done nothing but systematically bludgeon and finish every one of her opponents in legitimate combat. If she's submitting highly trained professional mixed martial artists in 20 seconds in the UFC, how is WWE going to put together a match with Stephanie McMahon that goes longer than that?
The good news is there's an entire year to iron out all these issues. And while there's no telling where White's head is at, everyone else involved seems ready, eager even, to make this happen.
Stay tuned.
http://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/20...y-vs-stephanie-mcmahon-wrestlemania-32-report
