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Shayna Baszler and Ronda Rousey might just be the most polarizing performers in all of WWE.
To some, namely fans who watched them come up in the MMA circles, the duo are the most believable fighters in the company, with an ability to break bones and hurt people in way that traditional wrestlers simply can't. And to others? Well, Baszler and Rousey “can't wrestle,” as they will often chant to the two women when they are in the ring. Does this matter to Baszler or her Four Horsewomen of MMA partner in crime? Maybe a little bit, but as Baszler pointed out on WWE Die Woche, she isn't too concerned with what fans have to say, as she knows her technical in-ring abilities.
“It's funny because you'll hear, ‘you can't wrestle' or people tell us ‘we can't wrestle' or ‘learn how to wrestle,' ‘all we do is MMA.' We're probably the only two girls in the locker room, maybe on the roster, there are maybe this many [holds up five fingers] that know how to do a double leg takedown. A real double leg,” Baszler said via Fightful. ” That's wrestling. It's funny the way people think about us because we're too good. I like when I'm doing stuff and I look in the audience and people have to watch my matches between their fingers and they're like, ‘oh no.' I like that.”
Does Baszler technically know how to do many of these maneuvers? Yes, she most certainly can do a technically perfect double leg and has more than a few tricks in her bag that wrestlers from 50 years ago would be proud of, from arm drags, to a bevy of submission maneuvers. But still, that won't stop WWE fans from ragging on her for not working a modern traditional style of wrestling, featuring high spots and fast-paced action. Fortunately, Baszler doesn't seem to mind that one bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM97Bq9_GOk
Shayna Baszler is WWE's version of Batman (yes, seriously).
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Elsewhere in her interview with WWE Die Woche, Baszler noted that in other countries, her “Strong” style of wrestling is far more appreciated and even championed, with the “Queen of Spades” comparing herself to Batman.
… what?
“I dabble in comic books and there is a Batman comic where someone says, ‘Why do you call yourself a bat? You don't fly.' He says, ‘I don't fly because I don't need to fly.' Me and Ronda don't fly around because we don't need to,” Baszler said. “Other people have to do that because they don't know how to grab your arm and twist it in any direction, we do. It's different if you look at it that way and open your mind. It's specifically the United States. Europe especially, Japan, they're a little more open to this style of wrestling. I spent a lot of time in Japan wrestling and that's where I really got comfortable. Like anyone, when I first started in pro wrestling, ‘Josh (Barnett) I want to have a top rope move, I want to do cool stuff.' ‘No one can do what you do, you need to embrace what you do.' When I went to Japan and lived there and wrestled for a while, I really got comfortable and went, ‘Ah yes, I don't need to do that, this is cool. This is the cool stuff.' It's been fun.”
Alright, in context, that quote makes a ton more sense, as, like Batman, Baszler and Rousey don't have to fly or be flashy to get the job done. Baszler is one of the best people in the world at what she does, and while fans would probably lose their stuff if she hit a running dive over the top rope or demolished another performer with an avalanche hurricanrana, few women can do what she can either, or knock Natalya out of action for months with a broken nose that then becomes a storyline. Though that Japanese style of wrestling she brings to the table – not to mention the experience working the Josh Barnett of Bloodspot fame – might not be for everyone, having varied styles of wrestling in a division, brand, or company can only create a better product, especially when the contrasting styles are played up to create something compelling. You have to give Baszler credit, she is genuinely a student of the game with runs in Shimmer and a spot in Ring of Honor as the unofficial third member of reDRagon alongside Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish. If fans don't appreciate that, then it doesn't seem like Baszler minds one bit.
