Ronda Rousey says her shock AEW Revolution run‑in was a pointed message for TKO Group, framing the looks as a strategy to again Marina Shafir, hype her Netflix MMA return, and tweak her former employers on the similar time.
AEW Revolution run‑in
On March 15, Ronda Rousey appeared at AEW Revolution after Toni Storm defeated Marina Shafir in Shafir’s first pay‑per‑view singles match, coming into the ring to confront Storm earlier than leaving along with her lengthy‑time pal. The present passed off within the Los Angeles market, with Shafir telling Rousey she could be on the cardboard whereas Rousey was touring via the realm to arrange for her upcoming combat.
In her YouTube vlog, Rousey defined that she initially requested Shafir whether or not she had any dates developing so Rousey may “do a run‑in or one thing that will help you out and put over the combat.” Shafir then knowledgeable her concerning the AEW pay‑per‑view reserving at what Rousey nonetheless known as the Staples Middle, presenting a gap for the cameo in entrance of a serious televised viewers.
A “f*ck you” to TKO
Rousey informed viewers that turning up at an AEW present with WWE on Netflix was “form of a cool little little bit of a f*ck you to the TKO Group.” She added that she took the danger on the idea that it could be simpler to “say sorry as an alternative of permission,” stressing that the looks was unadvertised and arguing that she was successfully selling the corporate’s Netflix programming.
Since leaving WWE in late 2023, Rousey has been overtly crucial of the promotion and of the UFC, each now housed inside TKO Group Holdings, and has framed a few of her latest media strikes as a part of a wider private dispute with the group. The Revolution cameo, positioned alongside her feedback about TKO, match into that ongoing public pushback slightly than an extended‑time period dedication to AEW programming.
“I requested [Marina Shafir] and I used to be like, ‘Hey, are you gonna be doing any reveals whereas I’m on the best way as much as the combat in order that perhaps I may do a run-in or one thing that will help you out and put over the combat?’ And she or he was like, ‘Really, I’m gonna be at Staples [Center] doing my first ever pay-per-view match.
“It’s form of a cool little little bit of a f*ck you to the TKO Group. Which is form of humorous as a result of WWE is on Netflix, however I form of figured it’d be simpler to say sorry as an alternative of permission on this one. Like, I’m selling your present. It’s nice. We didn’t promote it. It’s not like we boosted the rankings of it, so it must be nice.” H/t WrestlePurists
Rousey isn’t anticipated again in AEW any time quickly and that the Revolution run‑in was deliberate as a one‑off. The report notes that the looks was designed to help Shafir and promote Rousey’s MMA return, with the Los Angeles market making the logistics easy forward of her combat with Gina Carano, on Netflix.
Whereas the publish‑match angle teased a attainable feud with AEW Girls’s World Champion Toni Storm, PWInsider’s account states there have been by no means concrete plans for an prolonged Storm vs. Rousey program, and Storm is now anticipated to be off tv for an prolonged spell. That removes any brief‑time period path to a observe‑up angle even when AEW or Rousey had been to revisit the concept later within the yr.
Rousey vs. Carano on Netflix
Away from wrestling, Rousey is about to return to MMA on Might 16 in a featherweight bout towards Gina Carano at 145 kilos, staged on the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California. The occasion can be promoted by Jake Paul’s Most Helpful Promotions and streamed stay worldwide on Netflix as a part of the platform’s transfer into stay fight sports activities, positioning Rousey vs. Carano as a headline attraction for that technique.
Each ladies have framed the fight as an extended‑anticipated assembly, with Rousey calling it “the most important tremendous combat within the historical past of girls’s fight sports activities,” underscoring why tying her AEW look to promotion for the bout made strategic sense from her facet.
