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She may have been absent from WWE for over a year, but Ronda Rousey still remains one of the biggest names on the roster.
The Baddest Woman on the planet, she made her WWE debut in 2008 following a hugely successful UFC career, making her in-ring debut at WrestleMania that year, teaming with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.
Ronda Rousey enjoyed an incredible first year as part of WWE, winning the RAW Women's Championship and motoring through the competition before suffering her first loss at WrestleMania in 2019 when Becky Lynch snared her title.
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Even that defeat was fairly contentious and the fact it came in a triple-threat match will mean many still want to see if Rousey can maintain her unbeaten one-on-one record in WWE.
A former WWE writer just went after JBL for his comments HERE
When will Ronda Rousey be back in WWE?
Rousey has barely been seen or heard from since, leaving many to speculate whether or not her WWE career is actually done and dusted despite still being in its relative infancy. As an outspoken individual, to say the least, Ronda Rousey is never far away from the headlines and, as such, talk about what she's doing or saying is never far away.
It was only a matter of weeks ago that Rousey was forced to defend comments she made referring to wrestling matches as 'fake fights' - to say she didn't apologize would be an understatement.
If we allow ourselves to be convinced that it's a matter of time before Ronda Rousey does return, the question has to be asked - how will she be reintroduced to WWE programming?
Here, we explore just a handful of ways Ronda Rousey could return to WWE.
#5. Babyface Ronda Rousey
Ronda Rousey debuted in WWE to much fanfare, mainstream attention, and some very positive reactions from the WWE Universe. Initially booked as a babyface, she tackled the likes of Triple H and Stephanie as above, before working her way through the roster.
Up against the likes of Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, however, she ran into trouble in this regard. Fans who respected the body of work the likes of Flair and Lynch had crafted over the years started to turn on Rousey, who they believed had been handed main events and titles in WWE without necessarily earning them.
Cheers started to boos - but I believe there's a chance WWE can hit the reset button here, and bring Ronda Rousey back full circle. She'd have some work to do to address the damage done by comments such as the above tweet, but it's not something she's incapable of.
By booking her as a hero, she'd be a lock for feuds against the likes of Charlotte Flair if both are placed on the same brand once Rousey returns. Their previous encounters were as a result of Lynch's injury, so it would be fascinating to see what they'd produce with a prolonged period of time to work with.
#4. Should Ronda Rousey be a heel?
While Ronda Rousey made her debut in WWE as a babyface, and we suggested in the first slide that it might be an idea to revert her back to that, there's no doubt that it might well be the case that she returns as a heel.
We inadvertently made a compelling case for that in the previous slide - Rousey infuriated fans and fellow wrestlers alike with her inflammatory remarks about professional wrestling. Is there a chance that every single word of it was a work, designed to make the boos she was experiencing when she was last on the scene even more deafening.
Ronda Rousey to return as a heel?
In my view, there's no doubt that if Ronda Rousey returns as a heel, it will come far more easily to the athlete herself, who has not had to worry about making a living by being popular wherever she goes. Perhaps we'll see even more of the angry Ronda Rousey when she returns - and maybe nobody in WWE will be safe from her wrath?
#3. Change things up in the ring
Sometimes, after a lengthy absence, a returning WWE Superstar can benefit massively from a complete reinvention of their character or style.
When you think of Ronda Rousey, either the UFC fighter or the former RAW Women's Champion in WWE, you likely think of her aggressive, hard-hitting in-ring style. That stands to reason - she's made a huge success of that so far, and you tend to stick with what works well, right?
Will Ronda Rousey change her wrestling style?
The thing is, wrestling fans by their nature get bored or tired of an act quickly, and Superstars are constantly having to adapt to stay relevant and popular. Maybe it is time for Ronda Rousey to transition away from submission-based wrestling and show more technique where mat wrestling is concerned. Is she capable? There's only one way to find out, and Rousey having more than one string to her bow would be far from a bad thing.
It may take a while for her to become fully-established as Ronda Rousey the technician, but there is certainly the talent on the WWE roster to guide her through it.
#2. Ronda Rousey, leader of the pack
Critics of Ronda Rousey might point to the fact that, despite her huge star power, she remains fairly inexperienced as far as WWE is concerned.
One way to overcome that on Ronda's possible return is by partnering her with others who might be in the same boat - and have her leading her own faction.
Could WWE bring back the Four Horsewomen?
The most obvious solution for that would be by formalizing what is informally referred to as The Four Horsewomen - Ronda Rousey, former NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler, and NXT duo Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. The quartet are good friends, and the latter three were loosely a team towards the end of Baszler's title reign.
Could it be the case that all four assemble together once again on WWE's 'Main Roster' to cause havoc and mayhem on the rest of the roster? The leader of any such group would naturally grow in stature, and that's something that might be the perfect aid to Rousey.
#1. Could Ronda Rousey take up a non-wrestling role?
Ronda Rousey has made clear her intention to start a family, and that a full-time career in professional wrestling was hardly conducive to that. Indeed, that's mostly the reason we haven't seen Rousey on WWE programming for over a year.
Some fans feel that WWE is lacking in star power, with several big names like Roman Reigns, AJ Styles, and Kevin Owens currently off television owing to a combination of health issues, travel restrictions, and more. One possible solution would be to bring Rousey back, but what if the former UFC legend still doesn't want to throw herself back into the cut and thrust of in-ring activity?
Could Ronda Rousey manage Shayna Baszler?
One thought that comes to mind is one that suits both parties - get Rousey back on screen, but keep her out of the ring. Maybe have her manage Shayna Baszler? Could you bring back a RAW or SmackDown authority figure and have Rousey as a General Manager? There are plenty of ways to make use of Rousey's star-power without her having to get her hands dirty.
