Ronda Rousey says her final WWE match went exactly as she wanted

Ronda Rousey has made it clear that her last match in WWE was exactly the one she wanted to have, even if the fans didn't quite connect with the proposal. When recalling her fight against Shayna Baszler at SummerSlam 2023, she explained that the goal was not so much to please the audience but to close her chapter alongside her best friend and from her own creative vision.

Rousey admitted in an interview with ClutchPoints that the match probably would have worked better in a setting like Bloodsport, but still said she loves that it was her farewell to WWE. She also stated that she wanted to say goodbye as a true heel, giving the fans a fight that she considered more hers than for the audience.

And, being the good villain that I am, I wanted to flip off all the fans as I left and offer the fight that I wanted to offer with my best friend.

The former champion went even further by describing the fight as a kind of love letter to MMA. She explained that many of the sequences were inspired by real moments from fights that she and Baszler admired, although the wrestling audience might not recognize those references.

Her statements align with what Shayna Baszler had already mentioned about the limitations of the match. Baszler pointed out that the original concept was more ambitious, but the stadium and logistics of SummerSlam significantly limited what they could physically do within the venue.

Rousey's interpretation slightly changes the way that fight is remembered. What many fans criticized for its structure and presentation, she now sees as a deliberately challenging farewell, designed for herself and Baszler rather than to please the entire arena.