Ronda Rousey has a history of starting out projects on high notes and then ending badly.
She won the 2008 Olympic bronze medal in judo, then ended up badmouthing her experience after pivoting to MMA. Rousey then became an all-time, game-changing MMA star truly worthy of her UFC Hall of Fame spot, but handled her 2015 knockout loss to Holly Holm poorly and then left the sport after losing to Amanda Nunes in under a minute the next year.
Then Rousey joined WWE, where she earned great acclaim for her fast adaptation to the scripted version of combat sports. Rousey’s stardom was such that she became part of the first women’s WrestleMania main event when she lost in a three-way match with Charlotte Flair and winner Becky Lynch last year at WrestleMania 35.
Rousey hasn’t wrestled for WWE since. Appearing on the “Wild Ride” podcast with Steve-O, she said ultimately it was ungrateful fans who made the price of wrestling fame a cost she was no longer willing to pay.
“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 my energy on a bunch of f***ing ungrateful fans that don’t even appreciate me?” Rousey said. “The thing is, I love performing. I love the girls. I love being out there.”
“I love the WWE,” Rousey continued. “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 theater.”
But while WWE is scripted, it’s still a physically grueling art from that combines big bumps in the ring and more travel than most people can put up with, and Rousey decided it wasn’t worth it anymore.
“If I did all of the live shows, I was only home a day-and-a-half a week,” Rousey said. “It was just not worth it for my family because we were eliminating all of our expenses and living this lifestyle. We didn’t need it. We didn’t need the money.”
While short on specifics, Rousey says fan ingratitude tipped the scales.
“At the end of the day, I was just like, ‘f*** these fans, dude,’” she said. “My family loves me. They appreciate me. I want all of my energy to go into them.”
Ronda Rousey sounds off on WWE's 'f***ing ungrateful fans that don’t even appreciate' her