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The ‘Baddest Woman on the Planet’ is back

- GLENN SCHOUW Glenn.Schouw@inl.co.za Don’t miss the weekly build-ups at SmackDown and Raw, live on DStv SuperSport Channel 128.

MIKE Tyson punched out the line that he was the “Baddest Man on the Planet” and he was.

And now we have the return of the Baddest Woman on the Planet.

Yes, the 34-year-old Ronda Rousey has returned to WWE – and is this year’s women’s Royal Rumble winner.

This was her first Royal Rumble title and it secured her a Championsh­ip Match of her choice at WrestleMan­ia.

The eagerly awaited Royal Rumble took place at the Dome at America’s Centre in St Louis.

Rousey was one of the final female superstars to enter the Royal Rumble match.

Rousey dominated the ring and quickly secured her place at WrestleMan­ia 38 in April after defeating the Bella Twins, Shotzi and WWE Smackdown Woman’s Champion, Charlotte Flair.

This means she has secured a Championsh­ip Match of her choice at WrestleMan­ia 38 scheduled from AT&T Stadium in Dallas on April 3-4.

This victory was a hell of feat for Rousey considerin­g she had been out of the game for three years due to the birth of her daughter.

The last time Rousey was in action, she was pinned by Becky Lynch in a triple-treat match with Flair at WrestleMan­ia 35 in 2019.

WWE have recognised she still has magnetic appeal with fans and the script writers are already working as she is destined for a significan­t run.

She is now part of the RAW brand and is already set to participat­e in next year’s WrestleMan­ia.

In upcoming WrestleMan­ia, the odds are favourable she will face Flair, daughter of the legendary Rick – famous in the ring but light years away from that status out the ring.

He claims to have been kept warm by over a thousand women.

No surprise then that the 72-yearold Rick announced his fifth divorce yesterday. The one upside of Rousey getting paired with Flair is that it leaves Lynch open for a match with Belair.

"The EST" is the only woman on the Raw roster who has been positioned as a legitimate threat lately and a win over Lynch gives her the chance to redeem what happened back at SummerSlam

The WWE Universe wait all year for Royal Rumble, an event that is nearly on par with WrestleMan­ia.

The crowd erupted as spectators witnessed exceptiona­l performanc­es from their favourite WWE Superstars.

From unexpected returns and entries into the Royal Rumble matches to the seemingly “unbeatable” being defeated, Royal Rumble was indeed a true clash of the titans.

Here is a rundown about what took place, apart from Rousey’s achievemen­t.

Becky Lynch ran into arguably her biggest challenge to date against Doudrop.

The intimidati­ng Superstar stunned the champion but she lived up to her Big Time Becks moniker by rising to the challenge and overcoming her rival to remain the undefeated Raw Women’s Champion.

Brock Lesnar’s Royal Rumble was a roller-coaster of challenges.

In his WWE Championsh­ip against Bobbly Lashley, there was a surprise attack from Roman Reigns, who accepted his Championsh­ip win through a disqualifi­cation against Seth Rollins.

Lashley capitalise­d on Reigns’ attack to conquer Lesnar and reclaim the WWE Championsh­ip.

However, that didn’t stop Lesnar as he shocked the WWE Universe as the No. 30 entrant of the Royal Rumble match, eliminatin­g all remaining superstars to win his second Royal Rumble and punch his ticket to WrestleMan­ia.

A rivalry that has been brewing since SummerSlam 2021 is potentiall­y back on the cards between Reigns and Lesnar. However, could we see a triple-threat match between Reigns, Lashley and Lesnar for a winner takes all title match at WrestleMan­ia?

 ?? | WWE ?? RONDA Rousey, after a three-year break, won the women’s Royal Rumble.
| WWE RONDA Rousey, after a three-year break, won the women’s Royal Rumble.

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