After Ronda Rousey made a shocking appearance at the culmination of last night’s WWE Royal Rumble, many pundits are questioning whether the former UFC “fighter” can adapt from the cartoonish theatrics of the Octagon to the real combat of the squared circle.

Rousey was known for a long “streak” during her days in UFC (Undeniably Fake Combat), when flamboyant promoter Mr. White gave her a huge “push” against a series of jobbers who “tapped out” to her “submission holds.”

But Rousey may be in for a rude awakening when she steps foot in a WWE ring and discovers what real combat feels like, whether in the form of Charlotte’s Figure-Eight Leglock or a devastating splash from all 67 pounds of Alexa Bliss.

Long considered the circus-like cousin of professional wrestling, mixed martial arts — including UFC and smaller promotions like Total Nonstop Pride and Octagon of Honor — is a staged (or “worked”) spectacle in larger-than-life characters enact pantomimed morality plays of good versus evil.

Rousey, though a successful mixed martial artist (until her “streak” was broken by “Hardcore” Holly Holm), may quickly discover that her the WWE ring is a no-nonsense field of battle where only the strongest survive.

Her debut WWE match is expected to happen tonight against another newcomer — a female midget named Missus Picklefeather.