Last week we discussed how Ronda Rousey partnering with Natalya could lead to a great feud down the line, with Natalya’s close relationship having mentored Rousey in pro wrestling since 2015. Local ads for WWE’s upcoming European tour, which Rousey will be making her WWE Live Events debut on, has revealed who her first touring opponent will be and it’s none other than 9x Women’s Champion Mickie James (5x WWE Women’s Champion, 3x Impact Knockouts Champion and WWE Divas Champion).
While greatly impressing her detractors following her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34, when she paired with Kurt Angle to defeat Stephanie McMahon & Triple H, Ronda Rousey has yet to work a singles match in the WWE. Last week on Raw, she came to the aid of her friend Natalya following a match against Absolution‘s Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose. While Absolution moved to Smackdown Live the following night, they may pair Natalya and Ronda Rousey together in tag action in the coming weeks before a potential turn could lead to her feud with Natalya.
Working with a veteran like Mickie James is a smart move, as veterans such as Natalya and Mickie James are able to not only mentor Rousey in these early stages of her WWE career, but make better assessments on the fly how to hide her weaknesses at the stage, while highlighting her strengths. No doubt many fans of James will be upset that for these matches James will most likely be working as an enhancement opponent for Ronda Rousey, it’s for matches and character development like these kinds of situations that veterans’ experience comes into play, in helping establish and mentor up-and-coming stars for the viewing audience (be it live or televised).
