Ronda Rousey wins WWE Raw women’s championship at ‘SummerSlam’

Seven months after making her official professional wrestling debut, Ronda Rousey can call herself a WWE champion.

The former UFC bantamweight champion defeated Alexa Bliss for the Raw women’s championship at “SummerSlam” on Sunday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The match between Rousey and Bliss was the co-main event of the night, and the crowd at Barclays Center was heavily behind the former UFC star.

Once the bell rang, it was all Rousey, who was so confident in her in-ring abilities against Bliss that at one point she sat in the middle of the ring with her eyes closed and back turned to the champion.

Sure, @RondaRousey will give you the ring... but that doesn't mean she won't take it back with PURPOSE! #SummerSlam #RondavsAlexa pic.twitter.com/pY2v0A38OT

— WWE (@WWE) August 20, 2018

A HUGE congratulations from @NatbyNature for new #RAW #WomensChampion @RondaRousey!#SummerSlam #RondaRousey pic.twitter.com/XqjoClKqYr

— WWE SummerSlam (@SummerSlam) August 20, 2018

While there has been a fairly significant crossover between the worlds of professional wrestling and MMA, Rousey joins Brock Lesnar and Ken Shamrock as the third athlete – and first female – to hold championships in both UFC and WWE.

For Rousey, the championship victory completes her rapid ascent to the top of WWE’s women’s division. After making her in-ring debut alongside Kurt Angle in a mixed tag-team match against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at “WrestleMania 34”, the 31-year-old competed in two more televised matches and during a handful of WWE “house shows” before “SummerSlam.”

“SummerSlam” marked Rousey’s second opportunity to win the Raw women’s championship. In June, Rousey went up against former champion Nia Jax at the “Money in the Bank” pay-per-view event before Bliss eventually came in and stole what appeared to be a victory for Rousey.

Despite having little to no professional wrestling experience prior to joining WWE, Rousey has been impressive during the early stages of her career. Since joining the company, Rousey has quickly become one of the most popular figures and one of the faces of the women’s division due to her undeniable star power.

In addition to her mainstream appeal, Rousey has shown an almost natural ability to perform in the ring and has made significant strides in her ability to deliver an effective and captivating “promo.” Aside from a scripted 30-day suspension, Rousey has appeared regularly on WWE programming.

Prior to her championship match at SummerSlam, Ronda Rousey dropped by the Yahoo Sports set to play some test her Pop-A-Shot skills, discuss her new movie Mile 22 and explain why hot wings are greater than any championship belt or Olympic medal.

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