Ronda Rousey signs with WWE after making a surprise appearance at the Royal Rumble

Ronda Rousey is going from the octagon to the squared circle.

At Sunday’s Royal Rumble, Rousey made a surprise appearance after the women’s Royal Rumble. After WWE superstar Asuka won the Royal Rumble match, she had to decide which champion she would face, either Raw’s Alexa Bliss or Smackdown’s Charlotte Flair. Before she was able to make a decision, she was interrupted by Rousey.

Rousey introduced herself to the three women in the ring, then pointed to the giant WrestleMania sign up on the rafters, implying that she wants a match at this year’s WrestleMania in New Orleans.

According to Ramona Shelbourne, Rousey has signed a full-time contract with WWE. She talked to ESPN about the deal:

”It’s funny -- it’s kind of like acting, in that it was something I always wanted to do but I never thought was in the cards for me,” Rousey told ESPN of wanting to wrestle professionally. “And now that I realize I really do have this opportunity, I feel like my 6-year-old self would totally kick my ass if I didn’t take it.”

On Sunday, Rousey walked out to the same song she has walked out to before her UFC fights, Joan Jett’s “Bad Reputation.” Her monicker, “Rowdy Ronda Rousey, is an homage to the late professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. Her WWE entrance video also plays off of that.

More importantly, Rousey walked out to the ring wearing a jacket that looked similar to the ones Piper used to wear. It turns out that jacket belonged to Piper, and his son reportedly gave the jacket to Ronda.

Rousey’s last UFC bout was in 2016 when she faced UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

Rousey has appeared on WWE once before. At WrestleMania 31, she made a guest appearance during a segment with The Rock, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon. Outnumbered, The Rock looked to the crowd to stand up to Triple H and McMahon. that’s when he saw Rousey in the front row and asked her to step into the ring. Ronda then took down both Triple H and Stephanie.

Although she signed with WWE, Rousey has not officially retired from MMA though she says she’s devoting 100% of her time to professional wrestling now.

Now that Ronda Rousey has debuted as a member of the WWE roster, another WrestleMania is definitely on the horizon.

WrestleMania 34 takes place on April 8 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.