We were shocked when UFC Hall of Famer and former WWE Women’s champion Ronda Rousey hit the ring at AEW’s PPV in Los Angeles last night (March 15) looking for a piece of Timeless Toni Storm after Storm beat Rousey’s friend Marina Shafir. From what we can tell, most of the wrestle web was too.
What we’re still not sure about is whether Rousey will be back to continue her issues with Storm — more on that in a second. First, what little there is beyond the headline that brought you here. It’s from Wrestling
Observer’s Bryan Alvarez. The site reports that “a few” people at WWE knew about Ronda’s AEW appearance, and Alvarez has heard that most at Rousey’s former pro wrestling home were “shocked” when they found out she’d been a part of Revolution.
The report includes no mention of what, if anything, is next for the combat sports star in AEW. Rousey returns to mixed martial arts for a big money fight with Gina Carrano on a Jake Paul-promoted card for Netflix this May, and won’t be risking injury in a pro wrestling match before then. She’s appeared on a Tony Khan-booked show before, but that was also near her home in Southern California and in support of Shafir. It was two years ago, and never led anywhere.
For now, Rousey’s appearance gave AEW a reason to book a rematch for Shafir after a clean loss to the four-time AEW Women’s World champion. They’re not wasting any time either, announcing they’ll run it back with a No Holds Barred stipulation this Weds., March 18 on Dynamite in Central California.
Ronda has her issues with WWE, especially now that they’re owned by TKO. But would she risk burning that bridge, at least for the next several years, with a real AEW run?
That’s the big question right now. Give us your answers in the comments below!
