Ronda Rousey's dinner with Triple H fuels speculation of transition to WWE ring
Wrestling fans are stoked about the prospect of MMA star Ronda Rousey stepping into a WWE ring.
They saw more fuel added to that fire Tuesday when Rousey was spotted having dinner in Los Angeles with Paul Levesque, better known as wrestling legend Triple H, who has taken his talents from the ring to the WWE executive office.
While Triple H wouldn’t detail what the two combat icons discussed at dinner, he spoke with the Associated Press on Wednesday about the dinner meeting.
“We have nothing to announce at this time,” Triple H told AP. “But she’s a huge fan of what we do and she’s incredibly interested in what we do and the opportunities that lie there. We’re fans of hers and incredibly interested in what those opportunities could be with us. But there’s a lot of things to walk through. We’re talking. We’re having conversations.”
Rousey, when approached by TMZ Tuesday, was a bit more tight-lipped.
“I really enjoy fine dining,” Rousey told TMZ, while brushing off questions from a reporter pressing her for the scoop.
Rousey has remained largely out of the spotlight since her last UFC fight, a December 2016 loss to Amanda Nunes. It was her second straight loss after Holly Holm delivered a stunning knockout with her left foot that handed Rousey her first UFC loss and crumbled her aura of invincibility in November 2015.
While Rousey hasn’t officially retired from MMA fighting, it’s largely assumed that she won’t return to the Octagon, sentiments echoed by UFC president Dana White in November.
“She’s achieved everything she’s wanted to do, she’s made a [expletive]-load of money, and now she actually wants to have a life,” White told reporters when asked about his knowledge of Rousey’s plans.
Many signs point to her having a life in the wrestling ring, which seems a no-brainer for both parties, assuming that Rousey wants to keep up with the physical rigors of professional wrestling.
It seems clear the WWE would be happy to have her on board.
“We are talking to Ronda, as we’ve been for a while,” Triple H told AP. “She has a lot of things going on. We have a lot of things going on. But we have a great relationship with her, a very friendly standpoint for a long period of time now.”
Now we just appear to be waiting on whether Rousey is serious about giving wrestling fans what they want.