Ronda Rousey addresses the critics saying she cut the line in wrestling

Still somewhat guarded and selective with whom in the media she speaks with, Ronda Rousey opened up in a new interview this week. Promoting her role in the upcoming film ‘Mile 22’, the current WWE rookie spoke with the Los Angeles Times about a wide range of topics.

Ending her MMA career with back to back knockout losses, Rousey even spoke about learning how to lose in the interview. After the story specifically mentioned that her publicist asked Lance Pugmire of the Times not to ask her about “fighting””, Rousey would go on to answer a few questions about isolating herself following her UFC setbacks.

A few weeks removed from here WWE debut at WrestleMania 34, Rousey tried to answer critics who said she hopped the line in pro wrestling and didn’t pay her dues like the other female wrestlers in the locker room.

“I expected that I was being perceived as an outsider and rejected from the beginning.There is a certain way that people expect you to come up in the industry and I have had a very unorthodox path to where I am, and some people think of that as cutting in line.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have the miles on the body to go through the long and arduous path, I just hit the ground running, learning on a big stage instead of the … smaller shows.”

Despite her reservations, Rousey has largely been embraced by the pro wrestling community following the critical success of her first match.

With her guard still up, Ronda Rousey ended the interview with perhaps a telling quote about her relationship with the media moving forward as a WWE Superstar.

“We live in an age of trial by Twitter. What’s really gained by stating your opinion on anything? It whittles people down. It gets cut and pasted 10 times and it’s in headlines. Why should I talk? I believe hearing me speak is a privilege and it’s a privilege that’s been abused, so why not revoke it from everyone? I don’t believe public criticism, beating you down, is the right thing to do.”

Now roughly three months into the ‘Ronda Rousey to WWE experiment’, how long will it take for the former UFC champion to be viewed as just another wrestler in the locker room, “one of the girls”? Will that day ever come for the former biggest star in MMA?