While snow covered the East Coast, Winter Storm Jonas could not halt one of the most anticipated episodes of Saturday Night Live in recent memory as host Ronda Rousey made her first appearance on national television since losing to Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November.
The former UFC women's bantamweight champion hosted the longstanding NBC show for the first time in her career Saturday night. It got off to a weird start because this was the closest you'll see Rousey and Justin Bieber together in the same room, per SNL:
When in doubt, call in Kate McKinnon's @justinbieber. Right @RondaRousey? #SNL pic.twitter.com/Kfcl8Lg1Sw
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) January 24, 2016
Rousey has seemingly gone rogue since losing for the first time in her MMA career Nov. 14 in Australia. During her opening monologue, she addressed the loss, per Dana Loesch of Radio America:
Rowdy Rousey hosting SNL. Says "Holly deserved that win." Good on you Ronda.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) January 24, 2016
But the general reaction on Twitter was not pleasant. Rousey isn't an actress, so it's not fair to critique her as harshly as someone with years of experience.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Snowden put her performance into perspective, though:
Tomorrow some people are going to tell you that Ronda Rousey was great on SNL. Those people are called liars. No one could be great on this
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) January 24, 2016
One aspect of Rousey's life that she wants to keep to herself is her relationships. So this was a perfect segment for her, per SNL:
Dealing with jerk guys, the @RondaRousey way. #SNL pic.twitter.com/y28D6193bq
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) January 24, 2016
If anyone didn't feel Rousey did a great job with her performance, hopefully he or she wasn't disappointed by the show's opening skit. Tina Fey returned as Sarah Palin, and it went how you'd expect it to, per SNL:
Tina Fey as Sarah Palin is here for you, America. ???? #SNL https://t.co/gxrZwIAuHS
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) January 24, 2016
This line needs no context, just laughs, per Philip Rucker of the Washington Post:
“I belong in [Trump’s] Cabinet because I’m full of spice and I’ve got a great rack” — Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. #SNL
— Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) January 24, 2016
But throughout the show, it seemed like Rousey did not have as big of a role as other celebrity hosts. ESPN.com's Darren Rovell was quick to note that in the first hour:
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
There was this skit, however, which showed Rousey playing the role of a superhero, per CJ Fogler of the Cauldron:
Ronda Rousey’s superhero - Metalia #SNL https://t.co/VrOhdNbDTL
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) January 24, 2016
Overall, it was a fair show. Nothing swayed it in one direction or another. There could have been more live skits that favored Rousey, but it was her first time hosting—and she's not a full-time actress.
She'll probably get more chances to host and become more comfortable in this type of role. For her first time hosting, Rousey did well. It's more important that she's finally appearing on national television again.
