Ronda Rousey Possibly Done After WrestleMania 35 (With Update)

The lead article in this week's issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter might be of interest to wrestling bettors. Maybe not for this weekend's Royal Rumble, but for future wagers on the Road to WrestleMania.

Dave Meltzer writes that Ronda Rousey looks to be on her way out of WWE sometime after WrestleMania 35 as she had only signed a contract that would see her to this April rather than the multi-year deal that was touted when she signed last January.

I cannot find the post, but - sometime last year - I wrote about Ric Flair claiming in an interview that Rousey was only in WWE for a year. I didn't think this was the case as the reports following Rousey's signing indicated it was 'multi-year'.

I also recall writing - in the very same post - that I thought Flair might have had his wires crossed because I had read that Fox TV's pitch to WWE to move Smackdown to the network had Ronda Rousey's image all over it.

It's actually surprising to read that she could be gone before the move to Fox later this year. I have no doubt that her name was a huge reason why Fox paid all that money to have WWE on its network.

Meltzer notes that there's no reason why she couldn't be brought back for special appearances like The Undertaker and John Cena, but - for now - it appears Ric Flair was right all along.

Update: There are reports that Rousey is contracted with WWE up until 2021. The talk of her leaving after WrestleMania 35 haven't been disputed, so it's possible that she is planning to take time off after the event.