Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gather ’round for some breaking news! Former WWE star and all-around badass, Ronda Rousey, has taken a bold leap from the wrestling ring to the world of graphic novels. Forget suplexes and armbars—she’s now tackling storytelling, and it’s as unexpected as a flying elbow from the top rope.
On Thursday, Rousey launched a Kickstarter campaign for her original graphic novel titled Expecting the Unexpected. Written by Rousey herself and brought to life by the legendary comic book artist Mike Deodato, the story centers around a hired assassin code-named “Mom” who hides her weapons in a fake baby bump—only to end up genuinely pregnant. Sounds wild, right? Rousey told Wrestling Inc. that she drew inspiration from her own experiences in combat sports and motherhood since welcoming her daughter in 2021. The action scenes are meticulously crafted for realism, and the character “Mom” bears a striking resemblance to Rousey herself. It’s practically a storyboard for a future action movie with Ronda in the lead role.
The Kickstarter campaign aims to raise $20,000 and has already collected over $6,000. Reward tiers range from a $20 digital copy of the graphic novel to a $2,500 tier where up to 10 lucky contributors will be immortalized in the comic as enemy assassins. That’s right, you’ll get your butt kicked by Ronda Rousey in comic form! Other rewards include signed copies, variant covers, oversized editions, and cool accessories like hats, shirts, and trading cards. If you contribute this weekend, you’ll get an exclusive poster to celebrate Rousey’s appearance as a panelist at San Diego Comic Con.
With this graphic novel and her Netflix biopic in the works, Rousey seems to be steering clear of the wrestling ring for now. Her last WWE match was nearly a year ago at SummerSlam 2023, where she lost to Shayna Baszler in a mixed martial arts showdown. She made a few more appearances, including a stint with Tony Khan’s “ROH on HonorClub” alongside Marina Shafir, but hasn’t wrestled since November.