Ronda Rousey has a strong opinion about Vince McMahon. Rousey acknowledged existing sexual misconduct allegations against the disgraced former WWE chairman in her new book.
Rousey, who is signed full-time with WWE between 2017 and 2023, criticized McMahon and the company for their historically poor treatment of women in her new autobiography, Our fight. The former UFC champion and multiple WWE champion compared McMahon’s control of WWE to the tyranny of the sinister Emperor Palentine in the “Star Wars” franchise.
“Sometimes it’s hard to know where Vince McMahon’s evil, unethical, disgusting on-camera persona ends and the real ethically questionable, oft-sued and multiple times accused of sexual misconduct Vince McMahon begins,” Rousey writes in part. of his book published by Inside the ropes ahead of its April 4 release.
Rousey criticized the company’s history of holding “Bra and Panties” matches, in which the winner was declared by stripping their opponent down to their underwear. The last bra and panties match took place on a 2007 episode of WWE Raw.
“Even after this gimmick was removed by WWE executives – I’m sure very reluctantly and with much lamentation about political correctness – it was still clear that the organization placed more value on a woman’s physical appearance than her physical ability.” . Rousey writes.
Women are featured much more prominently in today’s WWE and in a way that more closely reflects their male counterparts. Rousey, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair were the first women to headline WrestleMania in 2019. Sasha Banks and Bianca Belair main evented Night 1 of WrestleMania 37 two years later, marking the first time two black superstars headlined the showcase Yearly. The company has come a long way since the “bra and panties” days, but Rousey credits fan feedback with the company’s cultural shift.
“It was only after WWE was basically blackballed, after a global social media backlash to the #givedivasachance, after the Divas were given a full thirty seconds – less time than it takes most people to read this paragraph – for an event national televised match match,” writes Rousey. “Four women had less time to fight collectively than each man in the cast had with just their intro music.
“Presenting this information as a person outside of the wrestling world, you might come to the conclusion that there is a troubling and fundamental sexist and patriarchal culture within WWE. You would be right. I have nothing but respect for the female wrestlers who paved the way for women fighters today and nothing but disgust at the amount of sexist and degrading bullshit they were subjected to.”
McMahon resigned from TKO Group Holdings, parent company of WWE and UFC, amid accusations of sexual assault and trafficking. McMahon is under federal investigation and a civil lawsuit over sexual abuse allegations.