Ronda Rousey Debuts At AEW Revolution 2026, WWE's Shocked Reaction Revealed (WWE News)

Ronda Rousey makes shock appearance at AEW Revolution.

by Andrew Pollard
AEW Revolution 2026 Toni Storm Ronda Rousey
AEW

Ahead of her return to the world of MMA, Ronda Rousey shocked the pro wrestling world - including some in WWE - by making a surprise appearance at AEW Revolution last night.

Following Toni Storm's win over Marina Shafir at Revolution, Ronda appeared in the ring as Timeless Toni sat at the top of the entrance ramp. Rousey pointed at Storm and pointed at the ring, leading to the former AEW Women's Champion heading to the ring and exchanging some heated words with the Rowdy One, as security kept the two separated. From there, Rousey - who was heavily booed by those in attendance at the Crypto.com Arena - exited through the crowd with Shafir.

Rousey was also then shown, alongside Shafir, helping to motivate Jon Moxley as he made his way out to face Konosuke Takeshita.

This was Ronda Rousey's first involvement in wrestling since she teamed with Marina Shafir at a November 2023 Ring of Honor taping, where the two picked up a win over Athena and Billie Starkz. In fact, last September saw Ronda announce her formal retirement from the squared circle, which itself was the second time she'd retired from wrestling, following a similar announcement in September 2023, shortly after leaving WWE for the second time.

In terms of WWE, f4wonline's Bryan Alvarez notes that many in WWE were "shocked" to see the three-time WWE Women's Champion appear at Revolution. Alvarez said that only a select few people within WWE were aware that Rousey would be debuting for AEW.

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While Ronda isn't officially #AllElite, the post-Revolution press conference saw Tony Khan state that she's "always welcome" in AEW.

As alluded to, Ronda Rousey makes her MMA return this May, when she fights Gina Carano on Netflix under the banner of Jake Paul's MVP promotion. This will be Ronda's first MMA fight since her loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 back in December 2016. Likewise, it will be Carano's first fight since a 2009 loss to Cris Cyborg in Strikeforce.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.