Ronda Rousey's Top 20 WWE Moves, in GIFs

Ronda Rousey 2018 Cover Photo for gif story.

Instead of deadlifting The Game into a fireman's carry from a standing position, Rousey rolled into the move, using her momentum and inertia to get her opponent off his feet. It remains an impressive, smooth-looking feat of strength, and it brought the New Orleans WrestleMania crowd to its feet.

Some wrestling moves are obviously improbable in a real-life situation. But this one, a counter to a rear chokehold, is taught in Krav Maga as a self-defense tactic. It's this sort of realness that makes Rousey's matches so engrossing.

It looks painful and innovative, which is everything you need for a crowd-pleasing professional wrestling move. This would have finished the match if it weren't illegal; the referee had to start counting for Rousey to break the hold.

A classic judo throw, this was the first move that Rousey ever performed in the WWE, during an in-ring segment with Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, and The Rock at WrestleMania 31. At the time, this segment was considered a one-off appearance. Rousey was undefeated in the UFC, and no one, least of all Rousey, could have suspected that in three years, she would leave MMA for a full-time WWE career.

Rousey takes something really basic—an off-the-ropes clothesline—and makes it her own by throwing in a diving roll for some extra flair. The way she moves reminds you that Rousey is an Olympian; she's so springy, like a panther pouncing on her prey.

Talk about an awkward first day on the job. It seemed for a minute that Rousey's in-ring contract signing would go off without a hitch (these segments never go off without a hitch), until Kurt Angle decided to spill the beans: The Authority only wanted Rousey to sign so they could have her under their thumb. Rousey responded by putting Triple H through a table, setting up a classic match at WrestleMania 34.

On the August 13 episode of Raw, Alexa Bliss surrounded herself with four burly security guards to protect herself from Rousey. That proved little obstacle to the WWE title contender; after judo flipping the first guard, she whipped her left leg around and introduced the second guard's face to her shin.

Nia Jax is billed at 270 pounds. That gave her a significant size advantage over Rousey, who fought in the UFC's bantamweight division at 135 pounds. So it came as a genuine shock to the audience when Rousey performed a textbook judo throw on Jax, using her hip as a leverage point. Talk about balance.

Here's a move that Rousey stole straight from the Octagon: a flying knee that jacked up Nia Jax's jaw. It's a little more Muay Thai than judo, which is one of the benefits of scripted fighting. Rousey has performed this move once so far; hopefully, she continues to increase her variety against Bliss at SummerSlam.

It's not very scientific, and it's certainly not very nice. But this hair pull Biel throw from across the ring popped the crowd. They had been waiting impatiently for Rousey to finally get her hands on Stephanie McMahon, and when she did, it was the perfect payoff.

Rousey took Stephanie McMahon to #SuplexCity in their WrestleMania 34 confrontation; she hooked the leg to give herself some extra leverage over the Billionaire Princess. Moves like these work best against smaller opponents; the more Rousey can rag doll her opponents, the stronger she'll look. On Sunday, expect plenty of power moves against Alexa Bliss, who stands at an intimidating 5'1".

Brutal, simple, and extremely safe if delivered properly. Alicia Fox takes a flat bump against the barricade before dropping to the floor.

Base on its usage, this move will either be Rousey's second finisher or a signature. It starts as a traditional Samoan drop, but Rousey gives it a little extra oomph by twisting her opponent off to the side. It's reminiscent of Brock Lesnar's F-5, right down to the scowl she does before driving her opponent into the mat.

At first glance, this appears to be an old-fashioned lariat. But watch closely, and you'll notice that Rousey hooks Sonya Deville's right leg with her left leg before driving her directly into the mat. This was two MMA women going toe-to-toe in a WWE ring, and one of them clearly came out on top.

It finishes like a Rock Bottom, but it starts with Rousey behind her opponent. Rousey turns her body while her opponent is midair, and that extra torque does a great job of selling the impact. It's a great way to make Rousey look strong, though if you watch a little more closely, Nia Jax is doing most of the work.

This has become the go-to set up for her armbar, and it's no wonder. Rousey does a great job of yanking downwards with a snapping motion to sell the force of the move. And as always, the recipient must do an equal job to make it look good. Alicia Fox, returning to action after a long injury layoff, sold it very well during Rousey's Raw debut match.

Ground moves were one thing; most onlookers expected Rousey to perform them, given her judo background. But aerial moves were another thing, and at WrestleMania 34, Rousey countered Triple H's power bomb with a perfectly executed frankensteiner. "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner, who invented the modified hurricanrana, would have been proud.

Rousey performed another impressive aerial move in her title match against Nia Jax at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view. She wobbled for a moment on the top rope, but quickly recovered and performed a flying crossbody on Jax. The move, which was popularized by Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat in the '70s and '80s, awed the crowd.

Triple H is a good sport. He's willing to tap out, get pinned, and get humiliated by the babyface so that his heel character gets his comeuppance. And one of the most thrilling parts of the WrestleMania 34 match involving him, Stephanie McMahon, Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey was this sequence.

Rousey wanted to throw down with Triple H. The referee, concerned for Rousey's safety, intervened. Triple H laughed condescendingly; he called the referee off, and told Rousey to hit him with her best shot. And that's when Rousey backed The Game into a corner and used him as a heavy bag. All he could do was cover up and pray.

Rousey's MMA record was 12-2. Of those 12 wins, she won nine of them with her patented armbar submission. In one of the most cringeworthy moments from her second fight against Miesha Tate, Rousey dislocated her opponent's elbow and tore her ligaments to earn the submission.

The Armbar is Rousey's WWE finisher as well. All of her opponents immediately tap to it. They don't make a show of screaming in pain or reaching for the ropes; the armbar is an insta-win. Should Rousey lock it in on Alexa Bliss and lean back, the match will be over; Alicia Fox or Mickie James won't have time to jump in the ring and make the save.