Ronda Rousey Reveals What She Learned From Her WWE Run

Ronda Rousey's time in WWE may have been a rollercoaster, but that doesn't mean she didn't come away with lessons learned.

The 38-year-old former UFC and WWE star has transitioned into a different form of storytelling, as she'll be releasing a graphic novel called "Expecting The Unexpected" on Oct. 7, telling the story of a mom-turned hitwoman.

In a conversation with AIPT Comics about the graphic novel, Rousey revealed something she took away from the wrestling world that she is carrying over into this new form of storytelling for her.

“That’s something I learned from WWE, there isn’t always one tone to the fights. Sometimes there is comic relief and other things going on. In the choreography, I really like to mix that extreme realism of MMA, but the huge set pieces of movies, and a lot of the storytelling within the fight itself that you see in pro wrestling," Rousey said.

The three-time women's world champion had high praise for this skill set she learned during her WWE run, and explained how it shaped her outlook on using fighting to tell a story properly.

"A lot of times in film, you’ll see, ‘Let’s take a break from the story to have this quick fight scene.’ In pro wrestling, I feel it’s the purest form of fight choreography in that you have to tell the story in the fight itself. I really wanted to utilize that. Use the fights as a storytelling vehicle to reveal character, but also have the action in the fights to have a sense of realism that you don’t see so much in pro wrestling or movies,” she said.

"Expecting The Unexpected" is her first venture into the graphic novel debut, while a biopic about her life is also currently in the works.

Rousey's Wrestling Run Ends

Ronda Rousey — Rousey and Baszler at WrestleMania 39. | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

Rousey recently revealed she has officially retired from pro wrestling, stepping away from the industry for the third time. While she had a brief independent and Ring of Honor run, she'll always be remembered for her two stints with WWE from 2018 to 2023.

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The former UFC star debuted officially at the 2018 Royal Rumble Premium Live Event following the inaugural women's rumble match, and had her first match at WrestleMania 34. There, she teamed with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

Rousey would make history the next year, joining Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch in becoming the first women to headline a WrestleMania. Her final WWE match was against Shayna Baszler at SummerSlam 2023, losing to her in a widely-panned MMA Rules match.

H/T Fightful for partial transcript assistance.

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