MONDAY NEWS DIGEST 4/8: Rousey loses WWE Championship, Gaethje looking to fight McGregor in Ireland

By Michael Hiscoe, Managing Editor

Tables are for bitches

Ronda Rousey made history once again by being part of the first Wrestlemania all-female main event. The three-way match with Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch capped off a five and a half hour card (not to mention the two-hour pre-show) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The bout was marketed as a “Winner Take All” match, where the first woman to score a pin or submission would win both Rousey’s Raw Women’s Championship and Flair’s Smackdown Championship. The nature of a three-way match often sees one of the wrestlers laying prone outside of the ring while the other two work with each other inside of the ring. Rousey was in control of the match early on. She eventually took her turn to lie down outside and she worked one on one with both Lynch and Flair.

WWE fans turned on Rousey in recent months and that sentiment was played up during the match. At one point, Rousey had an opportunity to put Lynch through a table that had been set up in the ring. Rousey flipped over the table, to the disappointment of fans, and shouted “Tables are for bitches.”

The finish came somewhat awkwardly and suddenly when Rousey was executing her “Piper’s Pit” finishing move and Lynch leveraged it into a pinfall. Rousey’s shoulders were visibly not pinned to the mat. The finish seemed to catch fans in attendance off guard. The announcers called attention to the fact that Rousey’s shoulders weren’t down, so the finish may have been planned that way to protect Rousey and set up a rematch with Lynch down the line.

Rousey’s loss lends credence to reports earlier this year that she was planning to take time off following Wrestlemania, perhaps to start a family with husband Travis Browne. she debuted at last year’s Wrestlemania and immediately impressed fans and critics with how quickly she took to the craft. Rousey was a focal point of WWE television and major events throughout the year and was booked very strong, not losing cleanly until last night’s match.

Rousey has made no indication a UFC return is in the cards for her, and even though she may be taking time off, she is still contracted to and will continue to be part of WWE programming. Her time as a near full-time performer for WWE may be up though.

Opening up the main card, Brock Lesnar lost his Universal Championship to Seth Rollins, potentially signalling a UFC return could be imminent.

For full coverage of Wrestlemania, be sure to check out PWTorch.com.

Monday Notebook

-Justin Gaethje told TMZ Sports over the weekend that he would like to fight Conor McGregor in Ireland. “I want to fight (McGregor),” Gaethje said (transcribed by MMA Fighting). I want to fight him in Ireland. I know it’s not gonna happen in Ireland but that’s my dream, to go over there and be in that sort of chaos. That’s what f*cking wakes me up every day.”

UFC 236 Countdown Show

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