As Money in the Bank 2023 rapidly approaches, the WWE Univers has begun to evaluate which performers have a chance to hit it big and who will fall down the ladder both physically and metaphorically. In 2022, Liv Morgan was lucky enough to score the briefcase in Las Vegas and parlayed the contract inside into a win over Ronda Rousey and her first of two championship reigns over the next 12 months.
Though that match, in particular, was largely remembered for how it ended, in the opinion of Natalya, fans should revisit her efforts against “The Baddest Woman on the Planet,” as she believes the match holds up a lot better than some fans may recall.
“I talked to Ronda throughout the whole entire thing because I really wanted to kick her a**, and I did. In all seriousness, the matches that I’ve had against Ronda Rousey, they’ve been so challenging and so much fun. She’s really trusted me with our performances, and I’ve really loved having those matches against her,” Natalya said on Ring The Belle via Wrestling Headlines.
“Like the match we had at Money in the Bank last year, I don’t think it got enough love. It was because Liv cashed in right after, and Liv had that amazing moment where she became the SmackDown Women’s Champion. But I loved that match against Ronda. So I’m just sending a little shout-out and love to Ronda.”
Taking the ring after the women's Money in the Bank ladder match – duh – just before the men took to the ring for their own MitB showcase, Rousey and Natalya worked a match for the SmackDown Women’s Championship that featured plenty of hard-hitting maneuvers, some smack talk, and more than a few submission holds that ultimately didn't result in the finish save the final modified armbar that caused the second-generation Neidhart to tap out. Say what you will about the match, which had largely been forgotten to history as a good-not-great bout on an interesting card, but it really did feature some interesting submissions and submission counters, even if the most important spot of the contest – and its follow-up second match – was a surprised roll-up off of a rope break for the 1-2-3 by the most watched Superstar from New Jersey.
With no match on the books, at least not yet for Money in the Bank 2023, maybe Rousey and Natalya could have a rematch in London?
Ronda Rousey explains the challenges of being a mother and a Superstar.
Sitting down for an interview with People about motherhood, fighting folks professionally, and her other Fox show, Stars on Mars, Ronda Rousey was asked about filming the reality show and how it affected her personal life. In the opinion of “The Baddest Woman on the Planet,” the hardest part of filming the show – other than, you know, being on Mars – was being away from her young daughter.
“That was the most challenging thing, just being away from my baby. I had a really hard time being away from her, and she was only 1½ when I was gone. It’s the cutest age and everything like that,” Rousey said.
“I was having a better and better experience, that I felt worse and worse about being away from her. And so, the mom guilt was compounding by the day, and I think that was more difficult than any part of the experience itself.”
Fortunately, it didn't take Rousey and company nine months to make the 9 million-mile trip back to Earth from Mars, and when she got back her daughter was nothing but happy to be reunited with her WWE Women's World Championship-holding mama.
“When she saw me, she wanted to jump into my arms and then she wanted me to put her down and just run around the house with me and then pick her up. And it was when she finally calmed down enough for me to hold her in my arms and for us to watch Frozen together, it was really our celebration,” Rousey said.
“Then that night — she sleeps in the bed with us — and with her little head in my nook, and I fell sleep holding her that night,” Rousey recalls. “It was the most amazing feeling after being away for so long.”
In professional wrestling, sometimes fans get a bit too focused on what's going on in the ring and lose track of what the people playing the characters on screen are up to in their regular lives, especially when said performer works under their real name. As Rousey prepares to keep her current championship run alive across RAW and SmackDown, it's cool to know that Rousey's able to spend time with her family when she's off.
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