Ronda Rousey's professional wrestling career got off to a hot start at WrestleMania 34 earlier this month, but the best is yet to come according to a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) legend.
Paul 'Triple H' Levesque played a major role in recruiting the former UFC champion to the WWE, then got a first-hand glimpse of her athletic prowess.
The 48 year-old full time wrestler turned WWE executive was the chief negotiator in Rousey's contract with the sports entertainment powerhouse, acting in his professional role as Executive Vice President of Talent relations.
On camera, 'Triple H' shared the ring with Rousey in New Orleans, alongside his wife, Stephanie McMahon in a losing effort against the former Olympic bronze medallist and WWE Hall of Fame icon, Kurt Angle.
Rousey thrilled the 76,000 strong crowd, showing off her newly found wrestling ability, tremendous timing and an ability to make everything she did look 'real'.
Levesque, speaking from Saudi Arabia ahead of the Greatest Royal Rumble event, told Newshub that the sky is the limit for Rousey's career.
"I can't think of a more meaningful, more successful and more impactful professional wrestling debut of anybody in history," Levesque said.
"She woke a lot of people up and made them realise that Ronda Rousey wants to be a WWE superstar for a long time to come.
"She is dedicated to this; she is 24/7 in this. She is a machine when it comes to training and focus and I have no doubt in my mind that she will be great at this."
The 14-time world champion never had a doubt in his mind Rousey would prove the sceptics wrong.
Many pundits, both in the mixed martial arts (MMA) and wrestling fields predicted a horror show given Rousey's inexperience.
The reality was the polar opposite. The mixed tag team match stole the show and Rousey was given a standing ovation from the massive crowd at the Superdome.
"I had been saying for a long time that her interest in us was at another level," Levesque said.
"She had no interest in coming in as a celebrity guest, she was looking to come in and be a WWE superstar.
"Ronda wants to be great at this; she wants to make this the bigger chapter of her career.
"She truly believes that everything she has accomplished prior to this was just a lead up to coming where she belongs and that is with the WWE.
"Ronda is one of the premier athletes on the planet.
"She is an Olympic medallist, a judo champion, in MMA they created an entire women's division just for her.
"The term 'world class athlete' gets thrown around a lot but the definition of world class athlete is Ronda Rousey.
"Her mindset is to be one of the best ever at what we do."
Levesque returns to the ring on Saturday (NZT) for WWE's historic one night event in Saudi Arabia.
'The greatest Royal Rumble' will take place at the King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, in front of a projected sell-out crowd of 60,000.
Levesque will be sharing the ring with a familiar foe in John Cena.
The two have a storied rivalry inside the squared circle that dates back as far as 2006 when they faced off at WrestleMania.
'Triple H' says it's time to turn back the clock for an audience that has been clamouring to watch WWE product live for 20 years.
"I'm thrilled to be here in Saudi Arabia and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to step into the ring in front of these fans who have been watching us since the late 1990's.
"Facing John Cena is always a pleasure.
"I think it is the right time for us to get back in there together and show these young guys in the locker room how it's done.
"John is one of the greatest performers in our business. He always has been and always will be. It's awesome to step into the ring with him.
"This is one of those matches were you don't necessarily need any type of build - I feel like being here in Saudi Arabia, putting Triple H vs John Cena on the billboard is good enough and significant to these fans.
"I'm looking forward to showing him why I am still better than him."
The Greatest Royal Rumble will stream live on the WWE Network on Saturday morning.
Newshub.
