Why Bully Ray Says WWE Alum Ronda Rousey Is Trying To 'Recapture' Love For Wrestling

Ronda Rousey recently returned to the ring to compete at a REVOLVER Unreal show, and then debuted for ROH, teaming with friend Marina Shafir both times. Her appearances surprised many, as they were her first non-WWE matches following her exit from the company after SummerSlam, and Bully Ray has a theory on why she wrestled them.

"I think she's trying to recapture that initial love for pro wrestling," he said on "Busted Open Radio." "I'll do something with my friend and I'll go back and I'm going to try to find it again, there is a way to make this work and it's been done before." Ray believes her initial buzz about wrestling was destroyed due to social media, while fans in arenas soured on her — leading to an eventual heel turn. However, he believes that could change if she were to chop her booking fee in half and follow the independent wrestling blueprint set out by Matt Hardy and Matt Cardona, which would make her more accessible to smaller promotions.

"You keep all your merchandise," he said. "Cardona doesn't even care about the booking fee, he makes the booking fee quite affordable because he knows he's going to clean up on merch ... People out there would love to get face time with Ronda Rousey, let me get my 8x10, let me get my photo with her, and that's where she can charge the premium." Despite Ray's musings, Dave Meltzer confirmed that her ROH appearance was a one-shot deal. With that in mind, as well as Rousey's previous issues balancing wrestling and family life, it remains to be seen if she will return to the ring again.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.