When Ronda Rousey called out WWE for putting her in a program with Alexa Bliss, it set the professional wrestling world on fire.
In the “Rowdy One's” opinion, the idea of a proven MMA fighter, one of the best to ever do it in UFC, selling for one of the smallest wrestlers in the business was simply too unbelievable, regardless of how much merch she was moving at the time.
This, understandably, didn't sit too well with fans and wrestlers alike, with MJF taking to social media to challenge Rousey's wrestling knowledge. And on Tuesday, JBL added his voice to the chorus of workers questioning the former WWE Women's Champion's understanding of the business on Something to Wrestle.
“I think it's just naive is what it is. Like MJF said, it's just not an understanding of the business. You put me against the—who do you want me to fight? You want to fight a guy who can't sell a t-shirt, or you want to fight the number one merch guy? And I don't give a d**n who he is. I don't care if he's some guy sitting on a street corner—if he can sell more merch than anybody else, put me in the ring with him. We'll make money. I guarantee you we will. Better than some guy that you know can wrestle that nobody cares about,” JBL explained via WrestlePurists.
“I think it's just naivety is what it is. And no offense to her. I'm not trying to say anything bad about Ronda. She's been very nice to me, and I have a lot of respect for her. But I think—why do you want to bash somebody like Alexa, who's still making a living? You’re just going to bash this person that's making a living and try to discredit her because it gets you a few clicks. I don't appreciate it.”
Because the results of wrestling contests are *spoiler alert* pre-determined, the idea of an MMA fighter being credibly pushed to her limits by a diminutive fan favorite really isn't that far-fetched, especially if the two performers are working together to make sure they deliver the absolute best performance in the ring and on the microphone. If Rousey didn't understand that aspect of the industry, then maybe MJF and JBL are correct that perhaps she doesn't understand the business, and it's for the best that she's moved on from the sport, save the occasional drama session for social media.
