Ronda Rousey 'Does Not Care For Our Business,' Says WWE Hall Of Famer

Ronda Rousey had a stellar start to her pro wrestling career ever since she made the jump from mixed martial arts (MMA), but many have quickly lost their affection for her and WWE Hall of Famer Theodore "Teddy" Long is among them.

Long recently appeared on the WrestleBinge podcast to talk about a myriad of things involving the business and show host Mac Davis inevitably asked the former on-screen general manager about Rousey's seeming lack of commitment to the industry.

"I'm glad that you brought that up because that's how exactly I feel. I don't think she cares anything about our business. I don't think she takes professional wrestling seriously," Long stated.

"I think with her, it's all about Ronda Rousey. She's one of the people that would go into business for themselves. So, like I said, great person, but this business is different. You gotta take this real serious."

Rousey's WWE career has been marred by controversy, mainly by pro wrestling purists who believe that she did not have the chops to make it out in the highly competitive industry.

At the time, the biggest gripe most of her detractors had been that she was taking away top-billing treatment that another performer with a more illustrious background should have had if "Rowdy" was not on the roster.

She went on to prove that she was a main event player for WWE and drawing decent reactions to her pay-per-view matches, despite being in a feature role most of the time.

However, the negative fan reception that she was receiving then, coupled with back injuries that she had been dealing with, forced her on the shelf before returning during the 2022 Royal Rumble.

While Rousey's MMA background translated well for the most part in an art that involved selling the opponent's moves, her mic work was something that she needed to improve upon since the former UFC women's bantamweight queen was still rough around the edges.

This criticism of Rousey lingers to this day and the fans' groaning fear of her being placed into speaking roles very much alive, which had famed MMA journalist Ariel Helwani offering to be Rousey's mouthpiece–much like how Paul Heyman was for Roman Reigns during the start of their run together.

Recently, Rousey was dethroned by the surprising return of Charlotte Flair for the SmackDown Women's Championship during the December 30 episode of SmackDown.

What was surprising then was the positive reaction that Flair got in the crowd and WWE's YouTube comments section for beating Rousey, which seems to confirm the divide between Rosuey and fans.

To Rousey's credit though, she played the uber heel that no one wanted to see on top and she deserves her flowers there for playing the role in a spectacular fashion.

But with her title-less, it remains to be seen what plans WWE has in store for her moving forward to help regain her connection with the fans.