Shock Within WWE Over Ronda Rousey's AEW Revolution Appearance

Ronda Rousey made her shock debut for All Elite Wrestling at Sunday night's Revolution pay-per-view in Los Angeles, California.

Rousey appeared following Toni Storm's win over Marina Shafir and pointed at the former AEW Women's World Champion, which resulted in a pull-apart brawl between the two. The former UFC star was heavily booed during her appearance, but it appears she will be connected to the Death Riders as she left the ring with Marina Shafir.

According to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer, most within WWE were "shocked" by Rousey's appearance at AEW Revolution. Only a few people within the company knew she would be making her AEW debut on Sunday.

Tony Khan addressed Ronda Rousey's AEW status during the post-Revolution media scrum, during which he revealed that Rousey had invited him to her MMA return fight against Gina Carano on Saturday, May 16.

"Well, Ronda 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," Khan said.

"And when Marina said Ronda was gonna be her backup, well, it's like, okay, everyone's banned from ringside… Ronda Rousey's 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."

The AEW CEO then added: "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."

Ronda Rousey was previously a part of WWE across two runs, first from January 2018 until April 2019 and then from January 2022 until August 2023. Rousey has been critical of WWE since her exit, accusing the company in 2024 of having a "foundational sexist, patriarchal culture." She also said behind the scenes in the organisation was an "absolute sh*t show." Despite the criticism, WWE were reportedly interested in working with Ronda Rousey again as of May 2025.

Following her WWE exit, Rousey wrestled three matches, teaming with Marina Shafir, which included a match in Ring of Honor in November 2023. Rousey noted at the time that she wouldn't be signing with AEW as she wanted to focus on being a full-time mother.

H/T Fightful