On WWE programming, Ronda Rousey is currently suspended indefinitely for putting her hands on an official after the controversial ending of her match with Liv Morgan at SummerSlam.
The key phrase there is “on WWE programming,” because Rousey and her employer are just fine with each other.
That important distinction seems to have escaped a number of media outlets who have reported Rousey’s suspension straight up over the past few days, as if the former UFC champion and current WWE superstar was truly suspended from her job. Among them are Parade, Entertainment Tonight and the Toronto Sun.
Several of the outlets linked to a story in People, which also appeared to believe Rousey may have truly been suspended. However, there is a short part of the People piece with some important context for people who don’t follow pro wrestling regularly that some of the citing articles missed:
In professional wrestling, performers will often stage a pre-planned event that will result in a suspension to take time off.
This is, indeed, exactly what took place with the end of the Rousey-Morgan match. Rousey had Morgan in an armbar while her own shoulders were pinned to the mat, so the referee counted to three and gave Morgan the win, “missing” the fact that Liv had tapped out prior to his count.
That finish allowed Morgan, who only won the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Rousey a few weeks prior (and largely because she cashed in her Money in the Bank contract to take advantage of Rousey having just come off a full match, and selling the idea her leg was injured) to keep her title. Rousey then attacked the ref, a no-no in the world of WWE storylines, leading to her announced suspension.
In turn, that allows Rousey to be off TV for a bit while giving her motivation to return seeking revenge — perhaps as an outright villain, a role she has expressed interest in trying. The belief among wrestling media is that WWE will reveal her suspension is lifted in time for her to appear at Clash at the Castle, the company’s big stadium show in Wales in early September.
At any rate, we point this out not to invite ridicule our fellow members of the media, but to educate them. Rousey is not legitimately in trouble with WWE, and announcements of suspensions by the company should always be taken with a grain of salt. More often than not, they’re what the wrestling world calls a work, and simply part of the overall show.