Ronda Rousey has opened up about the frustration and uncertainty she experienced during her time in WWE while Vince McMahon was still running the company.

Speaking with Complex News, Rousey reflected on her run in WWE and admitted she often felt like she was playing a version of herself rather than being genuine on screen. She explained that there was a noticeable difference between promos she wrote herself and ones that were scripted for her.

“I felt like I was doing somebody else’s impression of myself. You can tell when I was allowed to write my own promos and when I wasn’t. I learned a lot from it and I really enjoyed my time in the ring. I didn’t really enjoy being under the death throes of Vince McMahon’s reign, but there were a lot of great experiences in there.”

Rousey also described the backstage atmosphere during her second WWE stint as chaotic, saying communication within the company was poor and plans frequently changed at the last possible moment.

“I mean the second run, Vince was just more far gone and more difficult to work with and there was a lot of inner turmoil going on in the company. It was kind of a sh*t show and nobody ever knew what was going on. And you would get to the arena and you would be made to do something that somebody threw in your lap that wasn’t, hadn’t thought about it until 15 minutes before. Everything was super last minute and not well thought out and there was no communication, no back and forth.”

The former WWE Raw Women’s Champion went on to explain how difficult it became trying to collaborate creatively under those conditions. According to Rousey, the constant uncertainty created anxiety and made the process far less enjoyable despite her love of performing in the ring.

“Any attempt to collaborate felt like we were trying to negotiate something as opposed to partnering together to make something great. And unfortunately I love being out there in the ring and doing it, but the process was just like cluster fck, sht show that it was so much more anxiety than it was worth. I just look back at it and I just remember the anxiety of not knowing what was going on and then at the last minute, maybe we’d be able to pull it out of our a** and have a good night and maybe not. I was definitely team Triple H to get up to take it over. Yeah. So, I’ve heard it’s been much better since he’s taken things over, but unfortunately I didn’t get to experience it.”

Rousey competed in WWE across two separate runs between 2017 and 2023, becoming one of the company’s biggest mainstream stars during that time. Following her departure, she later appeared at AEW Revolution alongside longtime friend Marina Shafir after Shafir’s match against Toni Storm.

Outside of wrestling, Rousey is now preparing for her upcoming fight against Gina Carano on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. The event is scheduled to stream live on Netflix.

RONDA ROUSEY vs. GINA CARANO FACE OFF

Saturday May 16
LIVE only on Netflix#RouseyCarano pic.twitter.com/8na25MZzlP

, Netflix (@netflix) April 15, 2026