Ronda Rousey Confesses AEW Debut Was A “F**k You” To TKO
Ronda Rousey made her AEW debut at AEW Revolution on March 15.
Following Toni Storm’s victory over Marina Shafir, Rousey showed up and confronted the former AEW Women’s Champion. Taking advantage of the moment, Shafir landed a cheap shot on Storm before she and Rousey fled the scene.
After Ronda Rousey’s surprise appearance at Revolution, multiple outlets reported that it was likely a one-off, and that she had not signed a full-time contract with AEW.
Ronda Rousey Breaks Silence on AEW Debut
Ronda Rousey later addressed her AEW surprise appearance on her vlog on March 25, where she detailed three main reasons behind it. First, she said one of her primary motivations was to support her longtime friend Marina Shafir, who was competing in her first major pay-per-view singles match.
The second reason was to promote her upcoming high-profile MMA return match against Gina Carano on Netflix, scheduled for May 16, 2026. Lastly, Rousey admitted that part of her decision was a “big F you” to TKO Group.
She acknowledged that appearing in AEW could create some tension, especially with her upcoming Netflix fight, but clarified that it was not a conflict of interest since her AEW appearance wasn’t officially advertised and she was just promoting her MMA match.
“It’s kind of a cool little bit of a f*** 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, so it should be fine.”