In November, Ronda Rousey was handed a humiliating defeat at the hands (and mostly the foot) of Holly Holm. It was a bad look for Rousey who was overwhelmed, unprepared and frankly outclassed by someone who appeared to have more boxing skills in her pinkie that Ronda had in her entire body. But even worse for Rousey was the toll it took on her career outside the ring. She instantly became Internet fodder as one meme after another bombarded social media like Blizzard Jonas, unleashing its fury of hot takes on the masses. Diehard Rousey fans defended her, fringe Rousey fans weren’t sure what to think. The fighter (and personality) they loved and adored was the butt of every joke.
Then came word of Rousey’s “wooden” performance in Furious 7, a leak that seemed a bit mean-spirited but not at all untrue.
All of that led us into her Saturday Night Live hosting duties – a gig where no one knew what to expect. Could Rousey handle a lengthy monologue, one where she would have to crack jokes and perhaps do a little improv? Could she perform as well as athletes in the past, most notably her wrestling pal, Dwayne Johnson?
The answer, sadly, was no. SNL did their best to hide Rousey in a few skits (as they did in the past for Michael Phelps) but overall, nothing popped. Nobody woke up Sunday morning saying, “Ronda really nailed that performance.”
Others on the Internet weren’t so nice with their review. In fact, one of Rousey’s biggest MMA rivals (Cris Cyborg) burned her deep with this tweet.
Watching #SNL and it looks like @rondarousey still needs help on her standup
— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg) January 24, 2016
(Don’t read the responses to that tweet. They are some of the worst things on the Internet.)
Other viewers weighed in, including the always insightful Darren Rovell.
Through the 1st hour, seems like SNL hasn't written as many lead roles in skits for Rousey as other athlete hosts have had.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 24, 2016
And the jokes rolled in from there.
I never thought @RondaRousey could put up a worse performance than that last fight. I was SOOO wrong. #SNL
— BigHeadBS💨 (@BigHeadBS) January 24, 2016
Good lord Ronda Rousey was awful on Saturday Night Live… Better head back to the octagon…
— Baba Yaga 🦑 (@BroCamDad72) January 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/LegKickTKO/status/691137801312669696
https://twitter.com/POTUS44th/status/691182815593955328
So far, a mediocre-at-best cameo for Ronda Rousey on a bad SNL. I use that word because "host" is wholly inappropriate.
— Jason Martin (@JMartRadio) January 24, 2016
Ronda Rousey's appearance on SNL is starting to rival Michael Phelps…in a bad way.
— Bobby Roberts (@sweetbob) January 24, 2016
https://twitter.com/lexandragalinat/status/691120194123649025
https://twitter.com/RadioWires/status/691123889234165761
https://twitter.com/JESnowden/status/691123065640607744
But hey, Ronda still has one big fan. Props to Rob Simon for sticking to his guns and calling her the best host ever because clearly this was the first time he’s watched the show.
@RondaRousey @nbcsnl Best host ever!
— Rob Simon (@robsimon7) January 24, 2016