Ronda Rousey’s recent AEW spot might have come with a subtle message attached.
The former UFC bantamweight champion returns to action after almost 10 years away from competition when she fights Gina Carano in the main event of MMA MVP’s inaugural event on Netflix in Los Angeles on May 16. Ahead of that show, the once-reclusive Rousey has returned to the public eye with interviews and appearances, including a recent in-ring segment at the AEW Revolution pay-per-view.
The segment saw Rousey enter the ring to back up longtime friend and current AEW performer Marina Shafir, and while Rousey was just happy to dip her toes back into the wrestling world and bring more attention to her fight with Carano, she admits she enjoyed possibly ruffling the feathers of TKO Group Holdings, the company in charge of WWE and UFC.
“I’ve never been to an AEW pay-per-view, so I don’t really know what to expect so much, but I’m thinking like a less restrictive, more adult version of WWE, which sounds like a good time,” Rousey said in footage from a backstage vlog. “Those are all very good descriptions.
“And it’s kind of a cool little bit of a f*ck you to the TKO Group, which is kind of funny because WWE is on Netflix, but I kind of figured it would be easier to ask for forgiveness instead of permission on this one. Like, I’m promoting your show, it’s fine. We didn’t advertise it. It’s not like we boosted the ratings of it, so it should be fine.”
As for how it all came about, Rousey simply inquired whether it would be OK for her to take part in a high-profile angle Shafir is involved in. Sure enough, the timing worked out perfectly, with Shafir’s star on the rise and Rousey eager to be involved with some post-match antics.
“I asked her, I was like, ‘Hey, are you going to be doing any shows while I’m on the way up to the fight, maybe I could do, like, a run-in or something to help you out and put over the fight?’” Rousey said. “She was like, ‘Actually, I’m going to be at Staples and doing my first-ever pay-per-view match.’
“Marina’s just been killing it lately and she’s put in so much work for so much time, I think people are finally starting to take notice. It’s so serendipitous that this all fell together so that I can share this big moment with her. It’s really cool.”
Rousey is no stranger to the world of professional wrestling, having made history during a previous stint in WWE when, in 2019, she took part in the first-ever WrestleMania main event to feature all women wrestlers alongside Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch. Her second WWE run ended in 2023 and she has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since. MVP MMA marks Rousey’s first legitimate fight since UFC 207 in 2016.
The clandestine manner in which she entered Staples Center for AEW Revolution reminded Rousey of how tricky the wrestling world can be to navigate.
“I was brought into the arena in a very unique—I thought this was going to a much more chill, like, whatever kind of day, but they’re acting like it’s fricking Royal Rumble super secret whatever,” Rousey said. “They had me jump into a wheelchair and threw a tarp over me and wheel me in here. I had to wear a tarp (laughs). I felt like, ‘Wow, I’m so glad I don’t have to do this all the time.’”
Watch Rousey’s behind-the-scenes footage from her AEW outing below.
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