Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey appears at WWE Royal Rumble
By Jefferson Lake, WWE Editor
Last Updated: 29/01/18 1:17pm
Former UFC bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey appeared at WWE's Royal Rumble in Philadelphia on Sunday.
Rousey did not feature in the women's Royal Rumble match - the first of its kind staged by WWE - and which was won by undefeated Japanese wrestler Asuka.
Instead, the 30-year-old former bantamweight title holder, who flew in from shooting a film in Colombia before the Rumble, was involved after the match.
Raw women's champion Alexa Bliss and her SmackDown equivalent Charlotte Flair were in the ring as Asuka was asked to decide which title she wanted a match for at WrestleMania in April.
At that point, Rousey's music began and she entered the ring, pointing to the WrestleMania sign which hung from the rafters in the Wells Fargo Arena.
Asuka refused to shake hands with Rousey but Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon, who was on commentary duty at ringside, did shake hands with the former UFC champion.
"This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt," Rousey told ESPN.
"When I first met with Triple H, I told him, 'There are other things I can do with my time that'll make way more money, but I won't enjoy nearly as much.'"
Rousey has not competed in UFC since December 2016, when she was beaten by Amanda Nunes in 48 seconds at UFC 207.
Royal Rumble will be repeated on Sky Sports Box Office (channel 491) BUT NOT Sky Sports HD Box Office (492) between 10am on Monday, January 29 and 10pm on Thursday, February 1.
You can order repeats of the show by visiting this link: https://www.sky.com/boxoffice/wwe-royal-rumble, by pressing the 'Box Office' button on your Sky remote and following on-screen instructions or by calling 03442 410 888.
