Ronda Rousey & Shotzi worked on WWE Survivor Series match for two weeks, Rousey feels she let Shotzi down

Ronda Rousey speaks about the match she and Shotzi had at Survivor Series. Rousey explains why she feels she let Shotzi down

Photo Courtesy: WWE

Rousey added that she is open to moving to the tag division with Shayna Baszler. 

The eighth title defense of Ronda Rousey’s reign as SmackDown Women’s Champion took place at Survivor Series: WarGames. She retained over Shotzi in a seven-minute match. 

Rousey recapped the match and shared details about it while doing her gaming stream on YouTube. She joked about the DDT spot to the outside that was met with criticism. Rousey explained that she had never done the move before and all people kept telling her to do was guide Shotzi to the outside so that was what she was focused on. 

They worked on the match for two weeks, but their time was cut short because the AJ Styles versus Finn Balor match went over time. Ronda feels like she failed Shotzi because she wanted to highlight her strengths. 

You ever wake up from a deep sleep and think of a cringe moment in your life? And you lay awake in bed?

Well I had one of those this morning. I woke up at 6:30 this morning and I was like, oh God. That DDT on the apron [Rousey laughed]. So let me explain what happened. I actually pitched that spot because I loved that she [Shotzi] does that but we couldn’t practice it in my ring because the ropes were too loose, and then we couldn’t practice it when we got to the arena because there was these big cages so, everybody was like — I’ve taken DDTs before but I’ve never helped anybody over the floor so they were like, ‘Okay, you gotta have your hand here on her leg, another hand on her hip and you’re gonna guide her over’ and everyone was so focused on, ‘Gotta guide her over. Guide her to the floor’ that it was literally all that was on my mind when it happened and so when I was like, guide her and when she was down, I was like, oh f*ck. Just go to where you’re supposed to go. So, yeah, I f*cked it up because I was so concerned with keeping somebody safe and a lot of times when you see me do something the first time, it’s the first time I ever did it. It’s the first time I ever did it, I was really concerned with keeping Shotzi safe and I made it look bad and you know what? I’m sorry, okay. F*cking shoot me. Apparently, I deserve to be fired or burned. It reminds me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail when they were like, ‘Burn her!’… There weren’t calls to fire anybody when Madcap Moss and Big E were spiked on their heads and they were like, burn her anyway! I’m so sorry that I was so concerned with keeping someone safe that I made the bump look bad. But what really bummed me out is when my favorite thing in matches which is turning around a hostile crowd and we’re in Boston so of course they’re hostile because, you know, they’re angry at the fact that they live there and right when we got them turned around with the ‘holy sh*ts’ and the crossbody into the fans, I’m like, f*ck yeah, we’re turning it around. We got all the awesome sh*t coming up and then Shotzi rolls me in the ring and they’re like, ‘Get out of there.’ They’re basically like, ‘Plan B, get out of there. We’re out of time, you gotta go.’ I’m like, ‘What!?’ And she was going up and I’m like, sorry girl and I had to run up and throw her down and throw her in the Piper’s armbar and get out of there because that’s what they were telling me on my mics because I guess the match before us went over by like six minutes [AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor] and they were really concerned about going over on time and match after us was a three-way so they wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other… They couldn’t cut that out [WarGames] so it was like the only place where they could get that time back. So, I was kind of bummed though because we worked on that match for two weeks and we were really excited about it and I feel like I really kind of failed Shotzi. I really wanted to showcase her sh*t and make all of her sh*t look great and show everybody how great she is and that’s one of the main reasons I wanted to come back for this run is showcase a new talent and show people… And show everybody how great Liv [Morgan] is and Shotzi is and Raquel [Rodriguez] and Shayna [Baszler] and showcase all these women that haven’t been getting the attention that I think that they deserve and I failed. But that wasn’t the match. That was beginning of the match and I’m kind of bummed we’re getting judged from not really what we put together. 

Later in the stream, Rousey joked about how she’ll do her best to sell that DDT next time she takes it.

I’m going to take this DDT better than anyone in the f*cking earth some other time [Rousey laughed]. I’m gonna spike my head and do a f*cking breakdance spin and then land face-first onto the mat. Then while I’m bleeding out on the ground, I’ll be like, are you not entertained!? And then they’re gonna be like, fired.

Ronda was asked if she’d be interested in winning the WWE Women’s Tag Titles with Shayna Baszler. That is a goal of Rousey’s and she said she’s been a singles wrestler for so long and is ready to switch it up. 

She then brought up that she only has a year-and-a-half of in-ring experience and would like to see what a lot of people’s ‘favorites’ were doing at that point in their career(s). 

Uh, yes! [I would like to win the WWE Women’s Tag Titles with Shayna Baszler]. I’m happy just having a tag title. I don’t need a singles title. That would be fun. I mean, both is cool but I’ve been doing singles for so long, I’m ready to change it up. ‘For so long’, like a year-and-a-half. That’s another thing too, people forget I’ve only had a year-and-a-half of in-ring experience. Like sh*t, I’d like to see any of your favorites after a year-and-a-half of starting… I would love to actually see that. Go back and look at what everybody else’s gimmick was a year-and-a-half after they started.

The next pay-per-view on the docket for WWE’s main roster is the Royal Rumble in San Antonio, Texas. Rousey returned to WWE this past January and won the women’s Royal Rumble

If the quotes in this article are used, please credit the original source with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions. 

About Andrew Thompson 9833 Articles
A Washington D.C. native and graduate of Norfolk State University, Andrew Thompson has been covering wrestling since 2017.