Five Of Ronda Rousey's Best Matches In WWE

Ronda Rousey is currently on hiatus from WWE, after suffering a broken hand in the main event of Wrestlemania 35. That was a match in which she defended the Raw Women's Championship in a triple threat bout versus Smackdown Women's Championship, Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. It was "The Man" who left with both titles as Rousey suffered her first pinfall loss in WWE.

It was a loss beset with controversy as one of Rousey's shoulders was raised from the mat. The former UFC Bantamweight Champion has a strong case for a re-match but will we see her wrestle again?

Prior to Wrestlemania, rumours were rife that Rousey may leave the company following the event. There was speculation that the 32 year old wanted to start a family with her husband, Travis Browne.

Nothing was ever confirmed however and as it turned out, Rousey's injury means that she has taken a break from the company anyway.

She has taken to social media to declare that she is on an "Impregnation Vacation." Whether that is tongue in cheek or an accurate statement of fact thus far is unconfirmed.

Rousey, who debuted at the conclusion of the Royal Rumble 2018 event, has been on a absolute tear as a sports entertainer following her succesful run in MMA and as an Olympic Judo medallist.

In the space of just 12 months as an in-ring performer, Rousey has constructed an incredible body of work. In fact, not one single match she has fought could be considered poor.

Her star power, aura, expert selling and believable offence means she quickly became WWE's premier performer in her short time in the company.

Has she had her last match, however? That remains to be seen but if she has, there are more than enough choices to choose from regarding which have been the very best matches of her WWE run to date.

This slideshow looks at Rousey's five best matches of her WWE tenure.

#5 versus Charlotte Flair versus Becky Lynch (Wrestlemania 35, April 7, 2019)

Ronda Rousey finally lost her first match 12 months after her debut

Was the Wrestlemania 35 main event, Ronda Rousey's final match?

Time will tell on that score, but if it was, it was a fitting finale for a stunning 12 months in WWE. Rousey entered the bout as the defending Raw Women's Champion and once more entered a typically assured and realistic performance.

Rousey sold a brilliant powerbomb from Flair and Lynch and also sold Lynch's arm-bar submission, the Disarmer.

Rousey looked great striking both of her opponents and worked over Lynch, building suspense.

The action built and did, in truth become a little clunky down the closing stretch before Rousey, with Flair on the outside, nailed Lynch with a jumping knee strike and rolled into Piper’s pit before Lynch countered into a clumsy cradle for the win.

That handed Rousey her first loss in WWE. Whether the finish was intentional or botched is still not known. However, strange finish aside, this was a brilliant piece of work from all three women involved.

#4 versus Nikki Bella (Evolution 2018, October 28, 2018)

Ronda Rousey contested a minor classic with veteran Nikki Bella at Evolution

The world groaned when WWE announced that the semi-retired Nikki Bella was to be one half of the main event of WWE's first ever all female pay per view, Evolution.

However, Bella, with the support of Rousey constructed a brilliantly worked and entertaining and perfectly believable contest, that was well worth of headlining the show.

It was not as good as the Charlotte Flair/Becky Lynch Last Woman Standing bout contested in the semi-final slot but nonetheless was a fine piece of work.

The finish came when Rousey dropped Nikki and sister Brie, who had been wilfully interfering in the match with a double samoan drop before she forced her opponent to submit to the arm-bar.

An excellent headline attraction that closed a brilliant show is well worthy of all plaudits it received.

#3 versus Sasha Banks (Royal Rumble 2019, January 27, 2019)

Ronda Rousey contested a thriller with Sasha Banks at the Royal Rumble

Sasha Banks had been meandering as a character for 12 months but was sufficiently reheated in the weeks prior to her title match with Ronda Rousey that one could believe in her as a threat to the "Rowdy One's" Raw Women's Championship.

The bout delivered. The "Boss" was more over than anytime since 2017 and matched Rousey for intensity and appeared to come close to defeating the champion on several occasions, particularly when she had Rousey locked in the Banks Statement.

Banks continued to work over Rousey's arm in a nice piece of psychology before Rousey reversed into a gut wrench powerbomb and hit Piper's Pit and rolled it into a pinning combination for the clean pinfall.

There was a post-match tease of another bout and a possible Four Horsewomen feud. Time will tell if either occur.

As a once and done though, this was an impressively put together match.

#2 with Kurt Angle versus Triple H & Stephanie McMahon (Wrestlemania 34, April 8, 2018)

Ronda Rousey suplexes Stephanie McMahon in her pro-wrestling debut

Ronda Rousey's in-ring debut exceeded expectations.

The match was built to showcase her and delivered in spades. The bout was built around the confrontation Rousey had had with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at Wrestlemania 32 alongside The Rock.

After Rousey had embarrassed The Authority at that event, the story went that they had only signed the former UFC Bantamweight Champion to humiliate her. It was Raw General Manager, Kurt Angle who revealed this to Rousey setting up the Wrestlemania mixed tag, pitting Rousey and Angle versus McMahon and Triple H.

The match was the best encounter on offer at Wrestlemania 34 and was sports entertainment at it's very, very best.

Rousey displayed far superior striking skills than she had ever demonstrated during her MMA career as she blasted Triple H and McMahon with big punches before brutally submitting the "Billion Dollar Princess" for the win.

Rousey went 1-0 as a WWE performer and began an incredible 12 months in the promotion.

#1 versus Charlotte Flair (Survivor Series, November 18, 2018)

Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair constructed an instant classic at Survivor Series 2018

WrestleMania came early at Survivor Series. The expectation was that Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair would clash at the biggest show of the year but when Becky Lynch, Rousey's original opponent was injured, Flair took her place instead.

What a fight this was! Flair was in need of a big performance to re-heat her after losing her feud with Lynch and recover her aura after fans began to boo her despite the fact that she was the babyface.

The pair began the bout at a frantic pace with some UFC-style dirty boxing. It was terrific and felt completely different from the traditional WWE-type contest.

The brilliance of this encounter was that no one expected Rousey to lose but the booking of the match was so excellent that fans bit for Flair's near falls on the former UFC Bantamweight Champion.

Flair matched Rousey's intensity and was the more dominant of the two performers in this encounter but could not put the resilient Rousey away.

Incensed by her inability to put the "Rowdy One" away, Flair took a kendo stick and pounded away. Visible on Rousey's body were welts from the brutal assault. She then hit Natural Selection on a steel chair and continued the assault on the Raw Women's Champion.

Rousey won the match via DQ.

Terrifically intense, with both women beautifully crisp in their movements. This was a brilliant piece of work from two of the company's premier performers and may not just be the best bout of Rousey's career, but the best women's match WWE has ever produced.