When word spread that Ronda Rousey was wrestling during a Ring of Honor taping after the Nov. 17 AEW Collision & Rampage show in Los Angeles, speculation started about whether or not Rousey would sign with ROH or Tony Khan’s other wrestling promotion, AEW.
It was an intriguing proposition. Rousey is someone very few people don’t have an opinion about — which definitely applied to her time in WWE, an up-and-down run that spanned five years and ended at SummerSlam this past August. Plus, any hint of a star moving from WWE to AEW or vice versa gives wrestling fans a reason to compare, contrast & debate about the two companies.
Could Ronda work ROH’s upcoming PPV? Would she be All Elite?
Reports eventually told us no. The UFC Hall of Famer enjoyed the pair of independent wrestling dates she worked near her Southern California home, and with AEW/ROH in the area & friends on the card, she decided to work that Friday night in the Kia Forum, too.
Now, Rousey’s pretty much said the same thing, to TMZ Sports while she was just trying to walk down the street:
TMZ: Are we gonna see you doing AEW any time soon?
Rousey: No, no, I don’t think so.
TMZ: How come?
Rousey: You know, just trying to be home with the family and be a full-time mom.
Even before her WWE exit, we heard a lot about Ronda’s plans to focus on family (she and husband Travis Browne had their first child together two years ago, and Rousey is also close to Browne’s children from a previous marriage). So despite these quotes arriving via an impromptu interview, there’s no reason to think the three-time WWE Women’s champ was working.
With all signs pointing to Rousey returning to retirement rather than becoming All Elite, wrestling fans will just have to find other things to argue about. Luckily we’re good at that.