Ronda Rousey praises Paul Heyman as ‘one of the few people’ who encouraged her creatively

Though they weren’t paired together on-screen, Ronda Rousey got plenty of help from Paul Heyman during her WWE career.

Rousey praised Heyman in an interview with Sports Illustrated that was published on Wednesday, calling him one of the few people in WWE who truly encouraged her creatively. Rousey says Heyman saw her as more than just a wrestler, athlete, or fighter.

“He’s one of the few people who really encouraged me creatively,” Rousey said. “He showed me I’m so much more than just what my body can do. That’s how so many people see me–as an athlete, as a fighter. It’s all about performing, being on camera, focusing on what I can do physically–but it was different with Paul.”

Now focused on building a career as a writer, Rousey is releasing her first graphic novel and developing the screenplay for a Netflix film about her life. She told Sports Illustrated that Heyman was her first mentor in creative writing.

“It was Paul Heyman who said, ‘What do you want your movie to be?’ Paul produced my segments during the second half of my first year in WWE, and he really worked with me on being able to write my own promos and deliver them,” Rousey said.

“I’d wrote before, two memoirs, but not creatively–he encouraged me to create outside of myself. Paul was my first mentor as a writer, and he saw that in me.”

Rousey hasn’t wrestled for WWE since departing the promotion in August 2023 and doubts she’ll ever return unless things drastically change with how the company is run.

At Madison Square Garden last Friday, Heyman was at the center of a huge SmackDown angle where he was beaten down by The Bloodline after refusing to acknowledge Solo Sikoa as the Tribal Chief. Sikoa has taken control of The Bloodline with Roman Reigns away, bringing Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa & Jacob Fatu into the faction and kicking out Jimmy Uso.