Ronda Rousey Reveals She Has a Speech Disorder That Affected Her WWE Promos

Ronda Rousey is finally pulling back the curtain on one of the biggest criticisms of her WWE career—her promos. In a brutally honest moment, the former UFC Champion revealed she’s been battling a lifelong speech disorder that made delivering scripted lines in WWE incredibly difficult.

While speaking to Bert Kreischer, Rousey explained that she suffers from apraxia, a motor speech disorder that affects how your brain sends signals to your mouth. For Rousey, that meant her words didn’t always come out the way she intended.

“Apraxia — for those who don’t know — is a motor speech disorder where what you want to say and what actually comes out of your mouth are two different things. I’ve been dealing with this my whole life. I wasn’t even speaking until I was five, which is crazy to think about. I really have to concentrate when I talk, because sometimes I stutter or trip over words. It happens a lot in normal conversation, and most people don’t even notice it.”

But according to Rousey, WWE promos were a whole different level of pressure. Every slip-up is noticed, and trying too hard to sound perfect can backfire.

“But when you’re doing a WWE promo, it’s different. If you slur a word or don’t say something perfectly, it stands out. At the same time, you can’t over-enunciate, because then Triple H will tell you that you sound like Hunter Hearst Helmsley — too proper, too polished — and that turns people off. So there’s this really fine line you have to walk, and it’s tough, especially when you’re already self-conscious about how you speak.”

Rousey hasn’t been part of WWE since 2023, and she doesn’t seem in any rush to return. Still, her admission brings a whole new layer to the criticism she faced during her run. Fans often ripped her for sounding stiff or robotic, but few realized the real reason behind it. Whether you loved or hated her promos, Rousey’s vulnerability now puts that chapter of her WWE career in a different light.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.