Ronda Once Again Issues an Open Challenge for Her Title on SmackDown
Poor Shotzi, she almost got a title shot against Ronda Rousey tonight. Unfortunately for her, it was another “RR”—Raquel Rodriguez—who burst past the green-haired flyer and forcefully accepted the open challenge for Ronda Rousey’s hard-won title. And frankly, she came damn close to winning it.
So Rodriguez and Ronda locked up, and while most “Rowdy Ones” would’ve expected Ronda to dominate Rodriguez utterly, this turned into a hell of a match. Did Ronda expect this? Did she think she’d be okay to fight again less than a week after her absolute brawl with Charlotte Flair?
The size difference was palpable:
As the announcers even said: Ronda’s body was still covered with bruises and scrapes. But she issued the open challenge? Is this “Rowdy Hubris” getting in the way? No. Ronda’s a superhero. She always takes on all comers, right? Right.
Luckily, Ronda was able to roll up Rodriguez from a powerbomb and get the sneaky win despite the momentum on the side of her opponent. This proved Ronda can win by striking, submitting, and straight-up pinning an opponent.
In the end, it was nice seeing a respectful ending to the match. Ronda hasn’t really had one of these since she returned, and that’s been damn near four months! So, who will be next for Ronda as this open challenge continues? WIll Shotzi get her chance next week?