Reportedly, Ronda Rousey wasn't only brought into the WWE to help the overall product, but to also make Stephanie McMahon more mainstream.
Yes, you read that entire thing correctly.
Via the Wrestling Observer Newsletter:
"The key to Rousey is more about Stephanie McMahon, which is why they want that super high-profile match (and if they can get Johnson, it makes it even more high-profile). Stephanie McMahon is a big star in wrestling, but she is not a mainstream star at all. It was explained to me that the key in all this goes back to what made Vince McMahon a big star, which was the program with Steve Austin, and what made Steve Austin a breakthrough star past being a pro wrestling top guy, which was hardly an interview at King of the Ring or the WrestleMania match with Bret Hart, as legend has it, but the angle in Fresno with Mike Tyson.
Rousey is a major sports star. The idea that she was the single most searched female athlete in the U.S. on the Internet in 2017, a year she never competed and for the most part laid low in, speaks volumes. The idea for the program is to make Stephanie a star outside of just the pro wrestling world."
Unreal.
Some WWE talent have already voiced their frustrations over Rousey receiving plenty of the national attention. Even with the former UFC champion claiming to be in this for the long haul, if the latest reports are true, this will also unlikely sit well with plenty of the actual talent that wrestles inside the squared-circle.
With Vince McMahon focusing more of his attention on the XFL, leaving plenty of the important duties to Triple H, this move might not be as nefarious as it seems on the surface.
Eventually, Vince McMahon will either have to stop manning the WWE's helm or nature will force that to happen for him. In turn, the company — the remaining key people in charge — need to position themselves in the best ways they can.
Maybe making Stephanie into a household name is part of that positioning. Either way, fully expect the Internet Wrestling Community to not handle this report well.
