Maria Kanellis: To Have Ronda Rousey On An ROH Show Is Very Telling Of Where The Division Can Go

Maria Kanellis comments on Ronda Rousey making her ROH debut and the overall state of the Ring of Honor women’s division.

Ronda Rousey recently debuted in Ring of Honor at the November 17 taping of ROH TV. Rousey teamed with her friend Marina Shafir against Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion Athena and her minion Billie Starkz. 

Speaking with Fightful’s Iridian Fierro for 720 WGN Radio, Maria Kanellis said Ronda Rousey’s choosing to appear on Ring of Honor is indicative of where the brand is and all of the potential that the brand has. 

“I think it’s telling that Ronda Rousey had her match at Ring of Honor. I think Ring of Honor has always been the standard. It’s a standard bearer of what women’s wrestling can be, what wrestling in general can be,” Kanellis said. “To have Ronda Rousey appear on a Ring of Honor show, it’s very telling of what the division is [and] where it can go.” 

Maria then went on to single out some names that she believes makes the division what it is, including Leyla Hirsch, who she watches very closely on Thursday nights. 

“I’m working with Leyla Hirsch right now and she’s coming off of an injury and trying to get her mind right in order to compete in this very intense division, you have Athena who has been Champion forever. I think 20 years now she’s been champ and she doesn’t just compete, she competes aggressively and she expects those around her to computer aggressively and fiercely and that is what the traditions of Ring of Honor has always been, ‘Who is going to put on the best match?’,” she said. “We have our struggles in Ring of Honor. We are a subscription-based show we are a show that has a lot of underdogs, a lot of people trying to make it to the next plateau of their career, and I think that’s the heart and soul of Ring of Honor. For me, the first time I was in Ring of Honor, before I went to IMPACT Wrestling, before I went back to WWE, that is what truly changed my mind about what wrestling can be. It can be that mentality of, ‘We are just going to show people how talented we are by our work.’ That’s what we do at Ring of Honor. It doesn’t matter the adversity we face, we are going to prove it in the ring, backstage with our attitudes, and the way we fight for this company.”

Tony Khan previously addressed Ronda Rousey coming in for the one-off appearance in ROH. Read more at this link.

Eric Bischoff recently commented on why he believes Ronda Rousey is overrated in the wrestling space. Read his comments here.

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