🔥 “Oh S—, This Is REAL”: Ronda Rousey’s Closest Ally Reveals the WWE Moment Friendship Turned Into a Legit Fight 🔥
Ronda Rousey has never been known for doing things halfway — and according to one of the people who knows her best, that intensity didn’t magically disappear when she stepped into a WWE ring.
Shayna Baszler, Rousey’s longtime friend, former training partner, and fellow ex-UFC fighter, has pulled back the curtain on the exact moment she realized their WWE showdown wasn’t going to be “sports entertainment.” It was going to be a real fight.
And it happened in seconds.
From UFC Dominance to WWE Stardom
Rousey’s MMA career burned bright and fast. After becoming the biggest star in women’s MMA history, her UFC run came to a sudden end with back-to-back knockout losses — the final one lasting just 44 seconds.
But Rousey didn’t fade away. Instead, she reinvented herself.
When she signed with WWE in 2018, she carried her mainstream popularity straight into pro wrestling, instantly becoming a top attraction. Within her first year, she captured the RAW Women’s Championship after debuting at WrestleMania 34.
Yet long before that moment, another woman from her inner circle had already made the WWE leap.
Shayna Baszler Was There Before Everyone Else
Baszler joined WWE in 2017, a year before Rousey. The two had history that went way back — teammates on The Ultimate Fighter 18 in 2013, sparring partners for years, and close friends forged through brutal MMA training.
Eventually, that shared past led to the match fans had always expected:
Ronda Rousey vs. Shayna Baszler under MMA rules at SummerSlam 2023.
But what started as a planned spectacle quickly crossed into something much more real.
“Oh S—, Here We Go”
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet, Baszler revealed the exact moment she knew the match had shifted gears.
“I have been Ronda’s sparring partner for many years. Ronda has two speeds — on or off,” Baszler said.
“The match starts and she throws this little timing pump-fake jab at me. I just countered and popped her in the nose — pure reflex. And I was like, ‘Oh s—, here we go.’ I knew it was on, and we were just fighting after that.”
That split second erased any illusion. Two former UFC fighters weren’t playing roles anymore — they were reacting on instinct, just like old times.
The bout would ultimately become Ronda Rousey’s final WWE match, making the moment even more unforgettable.
Baszler on MMA: “That’s a Young Person’s Sport”
While rumors occasionally swirl about Rousey returning to MMA (which Dana White has firmly shut down), Baszler has a much clearer stance on her own fighting future.
At 45, she admits the margins in MMA are unforgiving.
“I think I would do jiu-jitsu or submission wrestling again,” Baszler explained.
“Fighting is a sport where a millisecond or two slower makes the biggest difference. That’s a young person’s sport.”
A Friendship Forged in Combat
Ironically, Baszler is also the reason Rousey ever fell in love with pro wrestling. Rousey has openly credited her for introducing WWE as a way to unwind after brutal training days.
That shared passion ultimately brought them full circle — from teammates, to rivals, to one final, brutally honest showdown that felt anything but scripted.
One thing is clear: when Ronda Rousey steps into a ring — UFC or WWE — she doesn’t pretend. And Shayna Baszler found that out the hard way, in real time. 💥
