There might be a big name backstage for Friday night’s AEW tapings. According to WrestleVotes on X, formerly known as Twitter, and corroborated by The Wrestling Observer’s Andrew Zarian, Ronda Rousey is reportedly at the dual taping of “AEW Collision” and “AEW Rampage,” according to multiple sources. Rousey’s sighting backstage comes after AEW CEO Tony Khan announced on X that “one of the best wrestlers in the world” would be signing with the company at Full Gear on Saturday. Khan noted that the wrestler in question is “respected by virtually every AEW fan.”
When a fan replied to the post, saying that Rousey could be backstage visiting her friend Marina Shafir, WrestleVotes replied they did not have further details on what Rousey’s appearance was for. Recent speculation on the mystery signee has also led to reports that New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Will Ospreay will sign with AEW.
After retiring from mixed martial arts in 2016, Rousey signed with WWE in 2018 and debuted at WrestleMania 34. She left the company following a loss to real-life best friend Shayna Baszler at SummerSlam in 2023. During her time with the company, Rousey held the “Raw” Women’s Championship once and the “SmackDown” Women’s Championship twice. Since leaving WWE, Rousey has appeared twice on the independent scene, most recently at Wrestling Revolver Unreal, where she teamed with Shafir in a no-contest against Ring of Honor Women’s Champion Athena and Billie Starkz, even going so far as to work a post-match angle with Athena after the bell.
