Former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey has always been open about her struggles during her second run in WWE. As the former UFC fighter gears up to take on Gina Carano in a fight booked by Most Valuable Promotions on Netflix this weekend, the “Rowdy” one opened up further about her time in WWE from her return at the 2022 Royal Rumble through her SummerSlam match against friend Shayna Baszler in 2023. Speaking with Complex News, Rousey didn’t mince words when it came to former WWE chairman Vince McMahon and her time in his company overall.

“The second run, Vince was just more far gone and more difficult to work with and there was a lot of inner turmoil going on in the company,” Rousey said. “It was kind of a s*** show. Nobody ever knew what was going on, and you would get to the arena and be made to do something that somebody threw in your lap that hadn’t thought about it until 15 minutes before. Everything was super last minute and not well thought out, and there was no communication, no back-and-forth.”

Rousey said that any attempt to collaborate felt more like a negotiation than a partnership to create something great. She said she loves being in the ring, but the experience was a “clusterf*** s*** show” that was “more anxiety than it was worth.” She described not looking back on her second run in WWE fondly because of that anxiety.

“I was definitely team Triple H to get him to take it over,” she said. “I’ve heard it’s been much better since he’s taken things over, but unfortunately I didn’t get to experience it.”

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Complex News and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.’s live coverage for “WWE Raw” on May 11, 2026, coming to you live from the Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee!

Joe Hendry will be joining forces with The Street Profits’ Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins to square off against The Vision’s Bron Breakker, Logan Paul, and Austin Theory. All six men have encountered one another over the course of the last couple of weeks, including last Monday’s edition of “Raw” in a brawl that took place in the moments that followed a match between Hendry and Theory that ended in a disqualification thanks to Paul’s interference.

Roman Reigns may have retained his World Heavyweight Championship against Jacob Fatu this past Saturday at WWE Backlash, but he did so by sending Fatu crashing into an exposed turnbuckle and delivering a spear to him in the closing moments of the match. Angered after such events transpired, Fatu cinched in the Tongan Death Grip on Reigns and had to be pried off by officials. Tonight, Reigns has demanded that Fatu acknowledge him in an Acknowledgement Ceremony.

Last Monday saw the beginning of the Oba Femi Open Challenge, with Alpha Academy’s Otis being the one to answer the call despite it looking like Akira Tozawa would be the one to do so. With Femi having scored a quick victory over Otis, he will find out who his next opponent is tonight as the Oba Femi Open Challenge is set to continue.

Additionally, Women’s Tag Team Champions Paige and Brie Bella will be making an appearance on tonight’s show after Raquel Rodriguez challenged them to face herself and her Judgment Day stablemate Roxanne Perez in a backstage segment last Monday.

While Asuka’s future with WWE has taken over the news cycle since Backlash, plenty of speculation remains focused on Brock Lesnar and what’s going on with his career. After losing to Oba Femi at WrestleMania 42 weeks ago, Lesnar’s post-match actions, including taking off his boots and hugging Paul Heyman, seemed to suggest Lesnar may be calling it a career. And even though many remained skeptical, another sign that Lesnar was done occurred last week, when WWE suddenly moved him to the alumni section of their website.

But as new information about Lesnar’s future continues to roll in, the skepticism over him being retired may be returning. PWInsider Elite reports that, despite being moved to the alumni section, Lesnar continues to be listed as an active performer on WWE’s internal roster as a free agent, meaning Lesnar is assigned to neither the “Raw” or “SmackDown” brand. While it doesn’t confirm anything, it appears to suggest that WWE expects that Lesnar will wrestle at least one more match.

Even those who took Lesnar’s actions at WrestleMania at face value have suggested that Lesnar could be coaxed back into the ring one last time, with WWE’s two night SummerSlam even later this year suggested as the most likely place. SummerSlam is scheduled to take place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Lesnar began his trek towards wrestling stardom as an NCAA National Champion on the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling team.

While Lesnar has remained silent since WrestleMania, he did hint in the lead up to the show that his recent return to WWE was only for the short-term, suggesting he was thinking about retirement. Lesnar has only been back with WWE for less than a year, having previously been kept off TV after being named in Janel Grant’s ongoing lawsuit against Vince McMahon, with Grant alleging McMahon attempted to sex traffic her to Lesnar.

After what felt like a “goodbye” to WWE fans following her loss to IYO SKY at WWE Backlash, more information about the status of Asuka has been revealed. After a report that many in the locker room were unsure what was happening with the “Empress of Tomorrow,” Fightful Select issued a new update ahead of “WWE Raw” on Monday.

According to the outlet, Asuka is planned for “Raw” tonight in Knoxville, Tennessee, but she will be taking some time off. Fightful reported that her time off is not related to the recent cuts, that included her Kabuki Warriors tag team partner Kairi Sane mid-storyline, but has been planned for a while. 

An earlier report in the day by PWInsiderElite indicated that a story going around in WWE is that Asuka could be returning to Japan to handle a family matter for an extended period, but the outlet noted that information had not been confirmed, and said that Asuka is backstage in Knoxville. PWIE had been told by several sources that the belief is Asuka will remain aligned with WWE.

Fightful confirmed that Asuka signed a long-term contract with WWE in 2024, but the duration of the deal is not known. In addition to those in the locker room who were unsure of what was going on, many of whom posted tributes to Asuka on social media following Backlash, a number of people involved in creative were also reportedly uncertain earlier on Monday.

Dave Meltzer indicated that Asuka is now semi-retired, and those Fightful spoke to said that they believed Backlash was not Asuka’s final match. While fans have been vocally frustrated with the release of Sane, both online and in-person, with “We Want Kairi” chants in the Tampa crowd, it was reportedly not known if Asuka shared those frustrations.