What if Cris Cyborg comes to WWE?

Ronda Rousey enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the MMA world. As her numerous UFC main event fights will attest, there was a time when she was every bit as big a draw as her male counterparts, and quite feasibly the biggest draw the sport had.

One of the more intriguing matchups that never materialized for Rousey was a fight with Cris Cyborg. Cyborg was one of the few women whose stature in MMA could compare to Rousey’s. However, the duo often fought for different companies or in different weight classes and these sort of logistics meant that the fight didn’t materialize. From there, Rousey suffered her back to back devastating losses that seemingly ended her MMA career.

There is still an opportunity for Rousey and Cyborg to come to blows, though, not in a shoot fight, but in the controlled environment of a WWE ring. Rumor has it WWE is considering Cyborg for a WrestleMania 35 match. This article looks at what that might mean.

---

#5. Rousey in kayfabe peril

Ronda Rousey could actually come across as an underdog against Cyborg.

One of the main challenges of successfully booking Ronda Rousey has been that so few women on the WWE roster can believably compete with her. Stephanie McMahon benefited from Rousey never having worked a match before, Nia Jax had a clear size advantage to lean on, and Alexa Bliss has the champion’s advantage.

Feuds with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair at least have some fire behind them, but WWE is nonetheless running out of women whom fans could buy standing any chance against the Baddest Woman on the Planet.

Cris Cyborg could present a credible challenge.

Indeed, Cyborg is one of the few women in the world who would probably be the favorite to beat Rousey in a shoot fight. This would create a great deal of intrigue going into a WrestleMania scenario in which Rousey has more experience in a WWE ring, but not that much more. It’s a rare opportunity to legitimately present her as an underdog.

#4. Rousey tested as a ring general

Rousey would be in the unusual position of being the more experienced pro wrestler in this situation.

The general consensus is that Ronda Rousey has made an incredibly smooth transition from MMA to professional wrestling, highlighted by working a believable, crisp, safe style in the ring. She has yet to put forward a truly bad performance and her TLC match with Nia Jax is on the short list of the best matches anyone has gotten out of The Irresistible Force.

Rousey is still no veteran, though, and having to be the more experienced wrestler, responsible for holding things together in the ring with a rookie, would be new territory for her.

Given the inexperience of both women and how high profile the bout would be, there’s little doubt they’d get a lot of help in plotting out the match. Nonetheless, from bell to bell, the success of the endeavor would lean heavily on Rousey’s shoulders to orchestrate key spots and keep the match on track.

#3. A worked MMA style

Rousey and Cyborg may actually be more at home in a worked MMA-style match

Professional wrestling today operates on the premise of athletes working together safely to simulate a combat situation for the entertainment of fans. While different wrestlers work different styles, there are certain central tenets to how wrestlers work that don’t exactly resemble the real world, but are accepted as parts of how sports entertainment functions.

Such rules include bounding off the ropes off of an Irish whip, or the fact that a bump through a table is automatically much more devastating than one on most any other surface.

Wrestlers typically steer clear of trying to work an MMA style, though there are some examples of it working. Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle worked an MMA influenced cafe match in Impact Wrestling for example, and Brock Lesnar has introduced elements of MMA pacing and offense to his matches.

Given Ronda Rousey and Cris Cyborg’s backgrounds, they’d be uniquely equipped to incorporate worked judo, jiu-jitsu, and striking into an offbeat match.

#2. More crossover between UFC and WWE

Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey may represent just the beginning of UFC-WWE crossover stars.

When Brock Lesnar returned to WWE from UFC, it looked like the next step in an ongoing beef between the two sides and the combat sports that they represented. After all, here was Lesnar, a former champion and top draw for UFC leaving MMA behind for the world of pro wrestling.

However, in Lesnar striking a deal to work a fight while under WWE contract, the iciness between the companies seemed to thaw. Moreover, when Ronda Rousey debuted at WrestleMania 34 with Dana White in the live audience cheering her on, it seemed like an acknowledgment of the degree to which these two worlds could not only coexist, but actively partner with one another.

If Cyborg comes to WWE for a match, it will mark the next step in these two brands and sports coming together. With teases of Conor McGregor and Daniel Cormier also conceivably having WWE presences, Cyborg may well open the floodgates of cross-promotion.

#1. Ronda Rousey wins

In the end, Ronda Rousey would prevail in WWE over Cris Cyborg.

WWE has invested in Ronda Rousey as its top female star this year. That choice comes with good reason, given the degree to which she is established as a mainstream celebrity and credible real-life fighter.

Booking Cris Cyborg against Rousey does introduce a sense of drama in terms of Rousey facing a challenger who could believably take her in a shoot fight. That’s in addition to making good on a fight UFC and the sport of MMA more broadly never could—highlighting wrestling’s ability to deliver dream matches on the premise that everyone is working together to entertain rather than actually trying to hurt one another.

In the end, though, Rousey is both the bigger celebrity than Cyborg and the one proven to be committed to the pro wrestling craft. WWE would have little to no reason to book Rousey to lose, unless it were to set up her victory in a return match.