Ronda Rousey proved she can be a WWE superstar at Wrestlemania

Ronda Rousey’s WWE in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 was a resounding success by any metric you can use. Any doubts you could have about whether she could command the ring on wrestling’s biggest stage with less than a year of preparation were erased, as Rousey was given the freedom to show her natural abilities and charisma to help turn in a match better than even the most hopeful would have predicted.

Strutting to the ring in a leather jacket and kilt-esque skirt, Rousey continued to evoke Rowdy Roddy Piper, and she did his memory proud. Rousey won over fans before the bell rang, and the energy lasted throughout 20+ minute match. It worked so well because of how the mixed-tag team match married emotion and traditional wrestling. Kurt Angle and Triple H provided the fare you’d expect, which allowed Rousey and Stephanie to be the wild cards — roles they played to perfection.

It was a relatively simple piece of storytelling that cast Triple H and Stephanie in typical cheating heel roles, while Rousey and Angle pleaded with the referee for fairness. Beginning as a standard tag match, it quickly devolved into a brawl — and it was here the match really shined. Rousey never looked as though the moment was too big for her. She exuded confidence, which caused fans to buy in as well, leading to multiple “This is awesome!’ chants ringing through New Orleans.

There was a long build until Rousey finally got tagged in, which isn’t a rare thing to see in a tag match where one person becomes a world beater — but it showed a level of a restraint from WWE to keep the fans waiting for it. When she was finally tagged in it was a flurry of activity, using her strikes, amateur wrestling and judo to put on a show in the ring and look like the most dangerous person in WWE.

Rousey didn’t perform many difficult moves, but she didn’t need to. Rousey made her repertoire look fearsome with flourishes and trash talking that showed ring psychology far beyond someone this new to professional wrestling. It wasn’t a perfect 5-star match, and there are small things that Rousey needs to work on, particularly when it comes to appropriately selling moves — but these is minor nitpicking in an otherwise stellar debut.

The close to the match was perfection, reaching a crescendo when Rousey put Stephanie in an arm bar, while Angle had Triple H in an ankle lock — all performed in stereo.

Stephanie McMahon did exactly what Rousey and WWE needed for the moment — reaching its zenith as the match closed with an arm bar that looked so brutal you’d be forgiven for thinking Rousey really hurt the Princess of the McMahon family.

WWE needed to catch lightning in a bottle to make this all work and turn Rousey from household name to WWE superstar. They did it. We’ve seen this formula fail before, but not on Sunday night. A superstar was born.