Ronda Rousey says AEW appearance was a ‘little bit of a f*** you’ to TKO
Ronda Rousey’s AEW debut at Revolution was more than just supporting her friend Marina Shafir in her first pay-per-view match.
In a new YouTube vlog, Rousey gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her preparation for Revolution and expressed pride in how Shafir has successfully transitioned from MMA to pro wrestling.
“Marina is my best friend in the whole wide world and we grew up doing judo together as little kids. We both quit judo and started doing MMA and then we both quit MMA and started doing pro wrestling,” Rousey said. “She’s absolutely crushing it and I’m so proud of her. I’m so happy that everybody’s finally starting to take notice of how incredibly special she is.”
Rousey also detailed how AEW kept her presence backstage a secret before she showed up at the PPV.
“I was brought into the arena in a very unique — I thought this was going to be much more chill like whatever kind of day, but they’re acting like it’s freaking Royal Rumble super secret whatever,” she said. “But they had me jump into a wheelchair and throw a tarp over me and wheel me in here.”
Rousey compared the AEW experience to WWE and said her being at Revolution was a “little bit of a f*ck you” to WWE’s parent company TKO Group. The UFC is also under TKO’s umbrella, and Rousey had been in negotiations to make her MMA return with UFC before those talks fell apart. She is instead partnering with MVP Promotions and Netflix for her upcoming bout against Gina Carano.
“I mean, it’s a little bit weird, but also familiar, but also it’s like AEW, so it’s nice. It’s a little bit more laidback. But actually, this is my first, I think, full-on AEW show because I only did Ring of Honor before,” Rousey said. “Like, I think I’ve been at the shows, but never really performing them. And Ring of Honor was kind of like a pre-taped, that was a smaller crowd. So, 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 a less restrictive, more adult version of WWE, which sounds like a good time.
“Those are all very good descriptions, I felt. So, yeah. And it’s kind of a cool little bit of a, like 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’d 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.”
Rousey made her WWE in-ring debut in 2018 and had two separate stints with the company lasting through 2023. Following her exit, Rousey has openly criticized WWE and TKO.
In her first MMA fight in nearly a decade, Rousey will face Carano live on Netflix on May 16. Her AEW appearance is not expected to lead to anything more at least in the short term, with there being no further plans for Rousey at the moment.
Rosanne Raphael is a wrestling writer with over three and a half years of experience covering all things related to the industry. From a kindergarten teacher to PR Associate to turning her lifelong passion for the industry into a career, Rosanne is currently writing for F4W Online where she focuses on wrestling news, analysis, and storytelling.
Rosanne previously contributed to Sportskeeda as an Assistant Content Manager.
When not consumed by wrestling, Rosanne is a musician and an aspiring artist.