Ronda Rousey explains why WWE rejected her idea for using thumbtacks at Extreme Rules

Ronda Rousey defeated Liv Morgan this past weekend (Oct. 8) at Extreme Rules to become the new SmackDown women’s champion. The awkward finish of the match saw Morgan pass out with a smile on her face while trapped in Rousey’s submission hold.

While streaming on her YouTube channel, Rousey was asked if WWE turned down any of her ideas for the match. Ronda refused to answer explained that she wanted to use thumbtacks to finish off Liv, but WWE told her they can’t legally do that:

“I pitched the finish to be on thumbtacks. She put down thumbtacks and powerbombed me onto the thumbtacks. And then as a repeat of our finish before, I would go for the armbar on the thumbtacks, but they start counting the pin. But then I would have to push up onto my one shoulder, like into the thumbtacks to keep the armbar on. And Liv would be biting her hand trying not to tap, and then pass out face down into the thumbtacks, and have her hand there to protect her face.”

“But they said we can’t do thumbtacks anymore. That legally, we can’t purposefully injure people and cut through skin and stuff. I don’t know. Then I was like, how about tiny little make believe pins? And they were like, no.”

That does sound like a much better finish than that what we actually got at Extreme Rules. If Ronda’s account is accurate, WWE banning thumbtacks is consistent with the rumor that the new regime is not interested in moving away from a PG product. It also creates a sharper distinction between their approach to pro wrestling compared to their main competition AEW, which doesn’t shy away from hardcore thumbtack bloodbaths.

Moving on, Rousey explained why Liv smiling while passing out made sense:

“I mean, let’s be honest, a lot of people would be smiling in that position.”

Ronda was also asked to clarify her current alignment as a babyface or a heel. Rousey said she is officially a bad guy:

“I’ve technically been officially a heel since I attacked Liv after I got screwed over by the ref.”

Rousey did indeed appear to turn heel at SummerSlam 2022, which is the event she is referring to above. However, she spent the next several weeks getting babyface reactions while rebelling against authority figure Adam Pearce, so it wasn’t clear what WWE was going for. She did taunt the audience after winning the title at Extreme Rules, and now based on her own definitive words, I’m sure everyone will stop debating the topic.

What do you think about thumbtacks not being allowed in WWE, Cagesiders?