For a number of years, it seemed as if Ronda Rousey heading to WWE would just be a pipe dream; but she not only became a WWE Superstar, she was also the first female champion to headline WrestleMania.
Now, it’s time for Ronda to headline a smaller screen venture in Total Divas. The show has been a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of female WWE wrestlers, with Ronda poised to take the fans into the happenings of her life. Still, we do have some reservations over this prospect along with our excitement, and you’ll find 5 of each in this list below.
Excited: Behind The Scenes For Her WWE Debut
Chances are we won’t see much of the happenings around Ronda’s WWE debut last year, seeing as it was a long time before this season of Total Divas, but that doesn’t mean the show can’t pull out stuff from WWE archives and have Ronda detail about what was going on.
It’s still a point of fascination for fans as to how WWE expertly kept things under wraps for Ronda’s big debut and having a show where she has enough time to talk about this experience would mean we could get a nice detailed account of how Ronda and WWE managed to pull it off.
Worried: That Her Roles Comes Across As Too Scripted
Even though Total Divas is supposed to be a reality show, we all know a lot of it is scripted. Case in point is Renee Young and Dean Ambrose’s relationship, which was clearly made to look as if Ambrose was really a lunatic and their onscreen portrayal suffered.
The same could befall Ronda, who WWE might want to ensure still comes across as a badass, leading to episodes of Total Divas where Ronda doesn’t seem genuine in what she’s doing. In the lead-up to WrestleMania 35, Ronda was criticized for not being very natural on the mic, so here’s hoping we don’t get something similar for Total Divas either.
Excited: Seeing Her Relationship With Other Female Wrestlers
The only friend we know Ronda has for sure on the WWE roster is Natalya, apart from whom she was always shown in a competitive light against the other wrestlers. Now that we’ll have her in a realistic setting, we might just see how Ronda’s relationship with her fellow superstars really is like.
It would be most fascinating to see how she interacts with people like Nia Jax or Alexa Bliss, seeing as they had antagonized Ronda the most on Raw. It’ll go a long way in humanizing these superstars in the eyes of the fans if we see them being genuinely friendly.
Worried: If She Might Just Be There To Make Up The Numbers
Although Total Divas is meant to be an ensemble offering, we all felt as if it was the “Bella Twins Show” for the most part until the twins got their own series. Quite a lot of the time it had been the sisters taking up most of the spotlight, leaving the rest to round out the cast.
This fate could still befall Ronda, although thankfully the Bellas aren’t supposed to have a starring role this season. There’s still a chance Total Divas is just pushing Ronda’s appearance mainly just to snag in the ratings, rather than Ronda actually having much to show for herself within the series.
Excited: Seeing Her Funnier Side
The problem with Ronda’s promos being too scripted was that even when she was trying to come across as a normal babyface, it just made it seem like her lines were being fed to her; the few jokes she made were rather corny.
But we know she’s capable of being funny in general, as best evidenced in a video where she trolled the WWE Universe by playing a musical instrument in the weirdest of places rather than address the issue of her future. It is this version of Ronda that we badly want to see onscreen, as it would show the viewers who the real person behind the character is.
Worried: Smark Fans Finding Material To Heckle Her With
For some Total Divas stars, the show hasn’t been what the fans wanted. Names such as Renee Young and Paige were underwhelming, while others like the Bella twins’ portrayal was exactly what fans wanted.
Someone like Nikki or Brie Bella are persons whom fans expected to act like divas, but Ronda isn’t that kind of person, at least in the fans’ eyes. Should she come across as something that fans won’t enjoy viewing, then you can bet smarks will be taking advantage of this and ruining the live experience next time Ronda shows up on Raw or SmackDown heckling her or poking fun at her expense.
Excited: Understanding Why She Left MMA
Ronda has been very vocal about her mental struggles with losing her last two bouts in the UFC, which led to her spiraling to her lowest point. We learned all that in infrequent appearances on shows like Ellen without having the opportunity to learn the real story.
Even now, people aren’t sure if Ronda is retired from MMA or not, which sets up her role on Total Divas very nicely for her to share what’s on her mind as far as her MMA future is concerned. We can also find out in full what led to her decision to walk away from the sport and into WWE.
Worried: That She Might Announce She's Leaving WWE
The Bellas were never popular for being great wrestlers, so the WWE Universe mainly cheered it when they announced their retirements on their show. However, Ronda has only just arrived in the WWE, with there being potential for storylines down the line.
But there remains a chance that Ronda might follow in the footsteps of the Bellas and announce her retirement from WWE on Total Divas. She hasn’t been seen onscreen in half a year; and with no return on the horizon, we could be in for an episode where Ronda makes her retirement official.
Excited: Checking Out Her Home Life
What we know so far about Ronda’s whereabouts is that she’s retreated back to her farm with her husband, and she’s made it known how much she enjoys that kind of lifestyle. So, rather than having a few Instagram posts to make out what that farm looks like, Total Divas could show the ranch in full.
Along with this, we might be getting in on Ronda’s future plans in her personal life, as she had earlier shared that she wanted to have a child. As was the case with Miz & Mrs, this would open up episodes where we see Ronda and her husband deal with the upcoming challenges of parenthood.
Worried: That It Might Lead To Her Own Spin-off
Sure, we’d like to know more about Ronda Rousey, but that doesn’t mean we want to see another entire show based on her. The advantage of Total Bellas was that the twins stopped hogging screentime on Total Divas, but their own spin-off hasn’t been very good due to overexposure of their lives.
In the same vein, there would be too much Rousey to go if she announced she was also going to star in her own TV series. It’s best to see these superstars in small doses, as it eliminates the possibility of seeing them at their worst; so, we’re hoping Ronda remains part of an ensemble where the best of her would shine.