WWE Hall of Famer Reflects on Ronda Rousey’s Career and Identifies the Key Element That Held Her Back

In the wake of Ronda Rousey’s reported WWE departure, WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has penned a lengthy note on Facebook, reflecting on Rousey’s pro wrestling career and the reasons she didn’t thrive as expected. Foley acknowledged Rousey’s seamless transition from MMA to pro wrestling, paralleling her debut with other greats like Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and The Rock.

However, Foley pointed out a significant flaw in Rousey’s performance: her inability to cut a good promo. He wrote, “I would put Ronda’s rapid progress up there with that of Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and The Rock… but each of those giants had one formidable arrow in their quivers that Ronda never quite got the grasp of: the ability to cut a great promo. That’s really all that was missing, all that prevented Ronda from being considered an all-time great.”

Rousey’s struggles with promos were attributed to her childhood battle with a motor speech disorder. Despite years of speech therapy, she still tends to slur or mispronounce words and gets nervous at public speaking. Some wrestling pundits and fans had urged WWE to pair Rousey with a mouthpiece like Paul Heyman to protect her from this weakness.