Ronda Rousey has revealed the nature of her working relationship with Vince McMahon, describing his methods as “sheisty carny s—” and contrasting them with the directness she was accustomed to with Dana White.
Speaking on The Lapsed Fan podcast, Rousey explained that while McMahon never directly confronted her with problematic statements, it was because he was “too scared” to face a direct response. Instead, he would resort to underhanded tactics. This management style was a significant source of frustration for Rousey, who stated, “Vince would just say whatever he had to say to get me out of the room and then do his sheisty carny s—.”
This frustration with leadership appears connected to her broader creative discontent within WWE. A primary motivation for Rousey joining the company was a long-teased “Four Horsewomen” storyline that would have pitted her MMA faction against WWE’s version, featuring Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bayley. The storyline was consistently “dangled” in front of her but was never fully executed, which Rousey found “soul-crushing.”
Her dissatisfaction ultimately led to an ultimatum regarding her final run. Rousey insisted on working with Shayna Baszler, a fellow member of her MMA stable. This led to a WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship reign, which was designed to build to a feud between them.
Baszler eventually turned on Rousey, leading to their MMA Rules match at SummerSlam in 2023. Rousey lost via technical submission in what became her final WWE appearance.
In a direct quote about her experience with McMahon, Rousey stated, “I was used to working with Dana, who was the most straightforward person ever… I just can’t work with anyone that isn’t straightforward.”
Since her departure, the former Women’s Champion has indicated her full-time professional wrestling career is “pretty much” over. She now considers her time in the industry to be in her “rearview mirror” as she focuses on other projects, including a screenplay and a graphic novel.