In somewhat of a surprising choice, WWE RAW Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey has been named number one in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s newly expanded annual ranking of the top female wrestlers in the world. Despite having only wrestled 10 singles matches during the evaluation period (October 1, 2017-September 30, 2018), the former UFC champion was able to secure the top spot.
Rousey seemed a bit embarrassed when informed by Senior Writer Dan Murphy during a taping of The PWI Podcast that the magazine has chosen her as the number-one woman wrestler in the world.
“Wow! That’s absolutely incredible,” she said. “I don’t really know how to react to that. I really appreciate it. I don’t know how much I deserve it, but wow!”
Rousey did not make her debut until midway through the evaluation period, teaming with Kurt Angle to defeat Stephanie McMahon and Triple H at WrestleMania 34. Rousey won the Raw Women’s title from Alexa Bliss at SummerSlam in August and has held it since.
“Ronda’s success in such a short period of time is absolutely unprecedented,” said Murphy. “She has become one of the biggest stars in WWE, male or female, and is setting a new standard for excellence in the women’s division. When it comes to our ranking criteria of championships won, quality of opposition, technical proficiency, won-loss record, and promotional ‘push,’ she is unmatched. Ronda was an easy pick as number one.”
With the growth of the women’s wrestling both in the U.S. and abroad, PWI decided to double the size of the “Female 50” it began in 2008, redubbing its listing the “Women’s 100.”
