When Ronda Rousey officially signed her WWE contract at the company’s Fastlane pay-per-view last month, she joined a small group of athletes that have worked for both Dana White and WWE head honcho Vince McMahon.
Rousey is set to make her in-ring debut at WrestleMania on April 8th, where she’ll team with fellow Olympian Kurt Angle against WWE royalty Stephanie McMahon and her husband Triple H in an inter-gender tag team match. Ahead of that spectacle, Rousey spoke with Martin Hines of Metro.co.uk about a wide variety of topics.
Rousey had a close relationship with Dana White during her time in the UFC. On the other hand, she says her relationship with Vince McMahon is very different – and she’s happy if she gets a handshake or a compliment from the WWE boss.
“Dana is one of my best friends and is somebody who I can call up any time and say let’s go for dinner, or drinks or even something completely random like asking him to fly to India, and he’d consider it,” Rousey said.
“I don’t even have Vince’s number! It’s a very different relationship, I highly respect Vince and very much appreciate the opportunity he’s given me but it’s more like, if I can get a handshake from him and him telling me I’ve done a good job, that totally makes my day.”
Rousey got to know Dana White over the course of several years. Their shared success helped forge a friendship that remains strong to this day. As a newcomer to WWE, Rousey says her relationship with McMahon is more professional than personal.
“With Dana, I’d expect him to grab me, hug me, pick me up and shake the hell out of me! If Dana just shook my hand and told me good job, I’d be like ‘what the hell Dana, that’s it?!’ But with Vince McMahon, I’d be like ‘oh my God, Vince McMahon shook my hand and told me I did a good job!’ It’s very different, I have a much more personal relationship with Dana, and a very professional relationship with Vince.”
Rousey also commented on WWE Superstar turned UFC fighter CM Punk, who makes his return to the Octagon at UFC 225 on June 9th in Chicago. CM Punk is “all in” on his MMA career, but Rousey is very, very excited at the prospect of working with CM Punk in WWE one day.
Visit Metro.co.uk to read the full interview with Ronda Rousey.
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