Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles didn’t give Ronda Rousey a warm welcome to AEW last night (March 15) at the promotion’s Revolution PPV.
The initial reaction online seems to have been the digital equivalent of a chorus of boos, with many of AEW’s most vocal fans expressing their disappointment that AEW brought in the former UFC and WWE star for a scene after Toni Storm defeated Rousey’s friend Marina Shafir. At issue are Rousey’s past
stances and statements on political and social issues: some she’s apologized for, others she has not.
So while Rousey’s name has generated headlines for AEW, and certainly grabs the attention of sports entertainment industry-types who don’t read much about MMA and pro wrestling beyond those headlines — her second appearance for a Tony Khan-run promotion isn’t getting a great reaction from TK’s beloved “sickos”. That adds to intrigue about when, if ever, Rousey’s future AEW or Ring of Honor appearances might be.
Khan first addressed Rousey’s appearance in his opening remarks at the media scrum after Revolution, saying:
“Well, Ronda (Rousey) is a really good friend of Marina Shafir, and Marina brought her in as backup… Marina and Ronda are good friends. Ronda’s actually wrestled for me before, but never in AEW. Ronda wrestled in ROH. We had a great match a few years ago, also in Los Angeles. It was Ronda and Marina teaming up in ROH against Billie Starkz and the World Champion Athena. I thought it was fantastic. I loved that match, and when Marina said Ronda was gonna be her backup, well, it’s like, ‘Okay, everyone’s banned from ringside’. But once the match was over, Ronda did get involved, and then Marina took advantage of the situation, landed a sucker punch on Toni Storm while everybody was mesmerized that Ronda Rousey was in the house.
“Ronda Rousey is a huge star, so, we have a great relationship with her. She’s wrestled for me before in ROH, and she’s always welcomed here in AEW anytime. She’s got a big fight coming up against Gina Carano, and I don’t know Gina Carano at all. Ronda’s always been very good to me. I wish her the best.”
Khan was asked if AEW would have a presence at Rousey’s MMA return when that fight airs on Netflix in May. He replied and said the following:
“I think that would be great. Ronda’s always welcome here and anybody from AEW that wants to attend that fight is welcome to do so. Ronda may invite some people. Ronda invited me to the fight tonight. So, I guess so, yes, sounds like we’re gonna be there.”
The AEW and ROH president and head of creative repeatedly pushed the No Holds Barred match between Storm and Shafir for Wednesday’s Dynamite, and at this point we’re guessing Rousey’s appearance was just a way to hype that and generate headlines.
For many AEW regulars, that’s probably welcome news. It doesn’t mean she won’t be back some day, however.
With a little time to reflect on her latest appearance, where do you stand on Ronda Rousey in AEW?
