"I've always been really excited about the potential for what she could bring out of me," Rousey says of Banks
Monday 14 January 2019 09:24, UK
Ronda Rousey says her Royal Rumble opponent Sasha Banks is somebody she has always dreamed of facing in the ring.
Rousey will defend her Raw women's title against Banks at the January 27 pay-per-view event, which is live on Sky Sports Box Office from midnight.
Banks is widely regarded as one of the best in-ring performers in WWE today and her 2015 NXT TakeOver match against Bayley is considered to be the greatest women's match the company has ever produced.
It is being speculated that Banks could lead Rousey to the stand-out match of her career so far at the Rumble, a prediction with which the former UFC champion is in full agreement.
"Everyone always asks me what my dream match is, and I always say Sasha Banks because, in my opinion, and opinion is subjective, I think a lot of women have had their best match with Sasha," she said in a video posted on her YouTube channel.
"I think that more people in the women's division have had their best match with Sasha than anyone else, in my opinion. So I've always been really excited about the potential for what she could bring out of me.
"And up until this point, I really didn't think I was at the level where I could fully take advantage of the opportunity to have a match with her."
Rousey feels her and Banks' size similarities will complement each other well, and added: "One reason why I'm really excited to have a match with Sasha is just there are so many things that only me and her would be able to do.
"Very, very small and very, very durable is not a very common combination. Just like there are certain things with Nia that I can only do with Nia because she's so much bigger and stronger than me, there are so many things with Sasha that I'll only be able to do with her because of how athletic and knowledgeable of wrestling she is.
"I'm really excited just because I feel like I'm going to learn so much and be so much better in the ring for having absorbed everything that I can from her."
