Ronda Rousey’s time in WWE was marked by both success and polarizing opinions among fans. However, one of her former opponents, Shotzi Blackheart, has nothing but positive things to say about working with the former UFC and WWE Women’s Champion. In a new interview, Shotzi praised Rousey’s professionalism, her willingness to take “brutal bumps,” and her laser focus on creating an “awesome” match.
Shotzi and Rousey had a feud over the SmackDown Women’s Championship in 2022, a program that allowed Shotzi to showcase her skills on a major stage. Despite some fans’ perceptions of Rousey as an “outsider,” Shotzi revealed that her experience working with the MMA legend was overwhelmingly positive.
On the TMZ Inside The Ring podcast, Shotzi was asked about her experience working with Rousey. She detailed how Rousey would invite her to her home to train and was always eager to take Shotzi’s most high-impact moves to make their matches as exciting as possible.
“I really like working with Ronda. Like, she was always so cool. She would like invite me to her house to come train with her. And she was always down, like, to just take the most brutal bumps, especially like, after our, like, pay-per-view match, she was taking some crazy bumps for me. And she would go and look and find all of my craziest moves. And she would be like, I want to take this. Let me take this. So, yeah, she was always so down. You know, people don’t give her enough credit. And when she’s focused, she’s laser-focused on making something look really awesome.”
When asked if Rousey was “stiff” in the ring, Shotzi was quick to shut down that notion, explaining that Rousey’s strikes were safe and that her judo throws, while “gnarly,” were executed professionally. “No, like all of her strikes and stuff, I didn’t feel at all. She just made them look really good. Like her Judo throws are pretty gnarly to take. Those are legit. But other than that, yeah, none of her stuff really landed crazy, like I didn’t feel at absolutely wrecked after wrestling her.”
Shotzi’s praise for Ronda Rousey offers a different perspective on one of the most talked-about figures in recent WWE history. The full interview, where she also discusses her own career and her return to the independent scene, is available on the TMZ Inside The Ring podcast.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit TMZ Inside The Ring with an h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
