Photo credit: WWE.com
Ronda Rousey defeated Charlotte Flair in an I Quit match at WrestleMania Backlash on Sunday to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship.
In a contest that saw the two women brawl in the stands at one point and use a variety of weapons, Rousey locked in the armbar but still couldn’t get The Queen to submit.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet then strengthened her grip, leaving Flair with no option but to concede defeat and relinquish her title.
Sunday’s bout was a rematch of the clash between the two on Night 1 of WrestleMania 38, which saw Flair retain the title through nefarious means.
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Natural Selection!<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WMBacklash?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WMBacklash</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/IQuitMatch?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#IQuitMatch</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/MsCharlotteWWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@MsCharlotteWWE</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/RondaRousey?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@RondaRousey</a> <a href=”https://t.co/ZWVTHQ37n5″>pic.twitter.com/ZWVTHQ37n5</a>
The WrestleMania bout came about after Rousey made a surprise appearance in the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble match and won. That marked her first bout in WWE since competing in the main event of WrestleMania 35 nearly three years earlier.
Rousey chose Flair as her opponent, and The Queen went to great lengths to both play mind games with her rival and avoid physicality prior to The Show of Shows.
As a result, Rousey wanted to make Flair pay, and she vowed to force her to submit on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet did precisely that, but Flair tapped when the referee was unconscious, so it didn’t end the match. She further took advantage by hitting an unsuspecting Rousey with a big boot and pinning her in what was a massive upset.
While Rousey took the pin in a Triple Threat match against Flair and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 35, this year’s event marked her first-ever loss in a one-on-one contest.
The former UFC star didn’t take kindly to Flair boasting during the aftermath of WrestleMania 38 due to the fact that she was fortunate the referee never saw her tapping out.
That led to Rousey challenging her to an I Quit match at WrestleMania Backlash, meaning the contest could only end in the event of a Superstar saying the words “I quit.”
While Flair was resistant to the idea, WWE official Adam Pearce liked it and made the match official, much to the titleholder’s chagrin.
Rousey was a heavy favorite entering WrestleMania Backlash since she had never submitted in WWE or UFC, and she became SmackDown women’s champion for the first time by making Flair quit on Sunday.
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