If it wasn’t for Ronda Rousey, Stephanie McMahon probably never would have wrestled at WWE WrestleMania.
The only time McMahon actually competed in the ring at WrestleMania was when she and Triple H teamed up against Rousey & Kurt Angle in 2018. Ahead of her upcoming WWE Hall of Fame induction, McMahon discussed her career on “What’s Your Story?” and looked back at that match.
McMahon noted that she’s always been a Rousey fan, seeing how strong she is while still having “broken pieces” from all she’s gone through in life. It was Rousey who requested the WrestleMania 34 match as a way to follow up on the confrontation they had at WrestleMania 31 three years prior.
“I was a big fan of Ronda, always have been. I used to love to watch her fight,” McMahon said. “I read her book and it made a big impact on me, what she’s lived through. You know, her dad committed suicide when she was young. She didn’t speak her first words until she was like four…
“My heart just always is with her because she’s so strong in many, many ways, you know, mentally and physically. And then also, I think she has broken pieces too, as we all do, right? So I’m a big fan of hers, and she was the one who requested the match. It was like a couple of years later, originally she was going to come in sooner, but then there was a movie or I don’t know, something happened. And then you sign her and Ronda was the one who said, ‘We need to finish the story with Steph.’ So she’s the reason I ever had a WrestleMania match.”
McMahon said Dakota Kai, Lacey Evans, and NXT coach Sara Amato were among the people who helped prepare them for the bout. It ended up being “safe but stiff” with Rousey & Angle getting the win.
This match was Rousey’s pro wrestling debut. She went on to have two separate stints with WWE before finishing up with the company in August 2023.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Ronda Rousey, WWE Unreal up for Sports Emmys, ratings, Arena Mexico and Tokyo Joshi Pro, the Ali Act, Gable Steveson, plus full reviews of AEW Dynamite and NXT! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including an update on Thunder Rosa and her WWE refereeing offer, Ronda Rousey is done with AEW already, a look at an awful edition of NXT, then Adam Abdalla appears to discuss the new Produce Wrestling. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Ronda Rousey’s AEW debut at Revolution was more than just supporting her friend Marina Shafir in her first pay-per-view match.
In a new YouTube vlog, Rousey gave a behind-the-scenes glimpse of her preparation for Revolution and expressed pride in how Shafir has successfully transitioned from MMA to pro wrestling.
“Marina is my best friend in the whole wide world and we grew up doing judo together as little kids. We both quit judo and started doing MMA and then we both quit MMA and started doing pro wrestling,” Rousey said. “She’s absolutely crushing it and I’m so proud of her. I’m so happy that everybody’s finally starting to take notice of how incredibly special she is.”
Rousey also detailed how AEW kept her presence backstage a secret before she showed up at the PPV.
“I was brought into the arena in a very unique — I thought this was going to be much more chill like whatever kind of day, but they’re acting like it’s freaking Royal Rumble super secret whatever,” she said. “But they had me jump into a wheelchair and throw a tarp over me and wheel me in here.”
Rousey compared the AEW experience to WWE and said her being at Revolution was a “little bit of a f*ck you” to WWE’s parent company TKO Group. The UFC is also under TKO’s umbrella, and Rousey had been in negotiations to make her MMA return with UFC before those talks fell apart. She is instead partnering with MVP Promotions and Netflix for her upcoming bout against Gina Carano.
“I mean, it’s a little bit weird, but also familiar, but also it’s like AEW, so it’s nice. It’s a little bit more laidback. But actually, this is my first, I think, full-on AEW show because I only did Ring of Honor before,” Rousey said. “Like, I think I’ve been at the shows, but never really performing them. And Ring of Honor was kind of like a pre-taped, that was a smaller crowd. So, I’ve never been to an AEW pay-per-view, so I don’t really know what to expect so much, but I’m thinking a less restrictive, more adult version of WWE, which sounds like a good time.
“Those are all very good descriptions, I felt. So, yeah. And it’s kind of a cool little bit of a, like little bit of a ‘f*ck you’ to the TKO group, which is kind of funny because WWE is on Netflix, but I kind of figured it’d be easier to ask for forgiveness instead of permission on this one. Like, I’m promoting your show. It’s fine. We didn’t advertise it. It’s not like we boosted the ratings of it, so it should be fine.”
Rousey made her WWE in-ring debut in 2018 and had two separate stints with the company lasting through 2023. Following her exit, Rousey has openly criticized WWE and TKO.
Ronda Rousey shocked everyone when she made her AEW debut at the Revolution PPV, but there are no plans for her to come back anytime soon.
However, just weeks after her AEW appearance, several reports have emerged regarding her All Elite status. Recently, our Bryan Alvarez confirmed that there are “no plans for Ronda Rousey to be back anytime soon.”
PWInsider also reported that she was “not expected back” in AEW anytime soon. Her appearance at Revolution was designed to promote her MMA comeback against Gina Carano, and she appeared in support of Marina Shafir, who lost to Toni Storm.
The report also explored that since the Revolution, PPV was local for Rousey, and in the same place as her fight against Gina Carano, it made sense for all involved to appear on the PPV. Fightful Select had previously reported that Rousey had not yet signed a contract with AEW.
Rousey is scheduled to make her MMA return against Gina Carano on May 16, 2026, under the banner of MVP (Most Valuable Promotions) at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
After a fake card made its way around X on Monday, the actual full lineup for this May’s Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano MMA event on Netflix has been announced.
Jake Paul’s MVP promotion made the reveal Tuesday morning on social media.
While it’s devoid of the name value of the fake card, the show will feature former UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos returning to MMA to take on Robelis Despaigne. It’s Dos Santos’ first MMA fight since losing to Cyril Gane at UFC 256 in December 2020. He’s lost his last four fights.
Other notable fighters include former UFC, Strikeforce and Bellator fighter Lorenz Larkin against Bellator and PFL veteran Jason Jackson.
The event for the Inuit Dome in Los Angeles is headlined by the returns of both Rousey and Carano for what is expected to be their final ever MMA fights.
Full Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano MMA fight card | Los Angeles | Saturday, May 16
At AEW Revolution 2026, Ronda Rousey shocked the world when she made her AEW debut, and now reports have emerged about her status with the promotion.
While Rousey appeared at Revolution with Marina Shafir and shared a confrontation with Toni Storm, Fightful Select notes that she is not yet All Elite and has not signed to the promotion.
Previously, we at WON reported that people in WWE were shocked to see Rousey’s AEW debut. Fightful Select has now shared that its sources reported on Rousey receiving the desired reaction in AEW after arriving as a heel. However, it was also noted that Rousey seemed to have expected a different reaction.
Fightful Select’s sources in TKO and WWE claimed that they expect Rousey to “do anything she can to go against WWE, UFC, and TKO at this point.” They also do not see her wanting to return to WWE anytime in the future.
No follow-up creative plans have been heard for Rousey yet. She was a local to the Los Angeles area, and appearing on Revolution was an “easy trip” for her.
Rousey is also scheduled to fight Gina Carano in her MMA comeback fight on May 16, 2026 under the banner of MVP (Most Valuable Promotions).
Updates on WrestleMania, how we got to Rhodes vs. Orton and feuds that are starting
A look at the UFC White House show and how we got here
Full UFC 326 coverage including the most viewers of a TV UFC show since Paige Van Zant vs. Michelle Waterson
A look at the new AEW streaming service
NXT Vengeance Day coverage and poll results
Odds on upcoming pro wrestling matches
Logan Paul’s grandstand challenge to football players gets several takers, including some big names, but nothing can transpire and how it ended
Full coverage of the 16 Carat Gold tournament in German featuring many of the best independent wrestlers in the world
A complete look at the TV ratings from all the pro wrestling shows over the past week, including breakdowns in various categories, placings, how Raw did on Netflix, competition and more
CMLL’s lineup for its No. 2 show of the year next week
Full rundown of the CMLL all women’s show onFriday
Konnan news
Behnid the Nino Hamburguesa firing
Rey de Reyes notes
Stardom Cinderella tournament news
New Japan Cup and anniversary show news
Pro wrestler and MMA star looks back at a fixed fight and more comments including the Japanese attempt to get a major WWE star to job in an MMA match to theri guy
Notes on a new promotion debuting
Attendance updates for future WWE, AEW, TNA and other shows including Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano.
Giant weekend in Europe including the two big Eve shows and the controversy
TNA future direction
Notes from the Tony Khan media call
Putting recent Collision numbers into perspective
How Zuffa boxing’s biggest show did
Rousey vs. Carano and Rousey’s promotional tactics as well as responses from other fighters
Lots of new UFC fights
Jake Paul’s women’s boxing group makes ESPN deal
Changes to the WWE writing team
ESPN reporting side does exactly what they said they wouldn’t do regarding pro wrestling
— Bryan and I will be back tonight talking more about last night’s Revolution show, Raw, New Japan Cup, CMLL, Ronda vs. TKO and more.
— Mike Perry vs. Nate Diaz has been added to the 5/16 MMA show on Netflix headlined by Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano. This Will be a five round fight at 170 pounds. They are listing this fight as part of a triple-headliner with Rousey vs. Carano and Francis Ngannou vs. Philipe Lins.
— Rousey wrote about this, “Welcome to the revolution Nate Diaz. It’s fighters vs. establishment — and we’re gunhna win! May 16 only on Netflix. PS Hunter Campbell pissed off the wrong bitch. I’m coming for your job motherf***er.” So I guess it was Campbell who made the call not to guarantee Carano and Rousey what their original idea of what they’d make from PPV was, and led to them not doing the fight in UFC. Exactly how much being anti-TKO led to Rousey showing up last night, I don’t know. Rousey hasn’t said or posted anything. Tony Khan was vague. The impression I have from those who know is that this was not a one-shot, but I can’t even imagine Rousey doing a match until after the Carano fight.
— Raw is tonight in San Antonio with both Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar on the show, so I expect real news coming out of it. AJ Lee vs. Bayley for the IC title, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Raquel Rodriguez for the WWE women’s title, Nattie vs. Maxxine Dupri and Grande Americano Kaiser vs. Grande Americano Gable are announced. They were sold out with 14,400 tickets out as of this afternoon.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s AEW Revolution show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— The presale for All In on 8/30 at Wembley starts for those with a link given out for registering early starts tomorrow and there will be another presale for those who have been given a code on Thursday. What Will Ospreay did last night and its proximity to these dates are not coincidental. The All In sale number after they go on sale to the public is one of the most important numbers of the year. It’s AEW’s biggest show by far of 2026 and more will be made of that number, either good or bad, than any attendance number from any promotion this year.
— WWE is honoring today’s date, 3/16, with 31.6 percent off tickets for US events including WrestleMania, but all shows starting Friday in Raleigh through 6/19 in Kansas City. It’s a one-day sale.
— Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of Paul Heyman’s WWF debut. It’s not 25 years straight. There was a notable several year break in there.
— TNA and iHeartMedia announced a multi-platform collaboration where IHeartMedia will be promoted on all TNA platforms while iHeartMedia will promote TNA and will sponsor all of its PPV shows for the remainder of 2026. iHeart will promote TNA’s PPV shows and live shows with the partnership launching for the 4/11 Rebellion show in Cleveland.
— In the New Japan Cup, tomorrow in Fukushima it’s Shota Umino vs. Zack Sabre Jr., and Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman. The Two winners go to the semifinals on Friday night. The other semifinal on Friday is Oleg Boltin vs. Yuya Uemura.
— As noted yesterday, NXT will be out of its normal time slot in Chicago tomorrow. It will be on tomorrow night but not until election coverage is over.
— TNA Impact on Thursday did 259,000 viewers and an 0.04 in 18-49. It was its best viewer number to date on AMC.
— CMLL tonight in Puebla was the third sellout in four days, and Mistico was not even on any of those shows. This is El Homenaje a Dos Leyendas week so Puebla tonight and Guadalajara tomorrow night both should be sold out, just like Friday at Arena Mexico one would think is a lock for a sellout. Friday has Claudio Castagnoli vs. Hechicero for the CMLL heavyweight title and Mistico’s return, teaming with Mascara Dorada & Neon against Jon Moxley & Wheeler Yuta & Daniel Garcia for the CMLL trios tiites plus the retirement of El Satanico should be an easy sellout. Tonight’s show is Atlantis Jr. & Templario vs. Soberano Jr. & Voador Jr. plus Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja defend the CMLL tag titles against Dorrada & Neon and Xelhua & Stigma vs. Yutani & Okumura.
— With his trios title win last night, I believe Mistico will become the first person to be trios champion in two different major promotions at the same time.
— Pandemonium Pro Wrestling had to pull Soberano Jr. off its WrestleMania week show. The SlamFest shows at the Palms ended up getting an exclusive for CMLL talent over Mania week.
— They are building up a Penta vs. El Hijo del Vikingo IC title match in AAA.
— Chris Jericho will be playing the lead villain on Sunday’s episode of Tracker on CBS at 9 p.m. Eastern. Last Sunday’s episode did 8,339,000 viewers and an 0.69, so as far as viewers, more people watch that show than just about any actual televison show.
— Impact on Thursday has The Nemeths vs. The Righteous, Brian Myers vs. Moose, Xia Brookside & Lei Ying Lee vs. Dani Luna & Arianna Grace, Mr. Elegance vs. 76 year old Mike Jackson and Jada Stone vs. Eleyna Black.
— Alex Hammerstone suffered a knee injury at the MLW tapings in Atlanta.
— Among those celebrating birthday today are Hall of Famer Mark Lewin (89), Mike McGuirk (71), Kenny Bolin (66), Henry Godwinn/Mark Canterbury (61), Steve Armstorng (61) and Kenn Doane (40). Today is also the birthday of Don Owen, the Hall of Fame promoter born on this day in 1912, Rudy Kay, born in 1914, Hall of Fame announcer Lance Russell (born in 1926) and Lorenzo Parente (born in 1935). Gary Hart was 66 when he died on this date 18 years ago.
Tony Khan had high praise for Ronda Rousey after her AEW Revolution appearance and addressed the possibility of her signing with the promotion.
Sunday night’s pay-per-view saw Rousey make a surprise arrival after Marina Shafir lost to “Timeless” Toni Storm. When asked about how the appearance came about at the post-show press conference, Khan cited Rousey’s friend Shafir as being key to making it happen.
“Well, Ronda is a really good friend of Marina Shafir, and Marina brought her in as backup,” Khan said. “Everyone was banned from ringside, so that match was a great wrestling match. I thought Toni and Marina Shafir was a great wrestling match. [Shafir and Storm are] going to have a no holds barred fight on Wednesday night, and I’m looking forward to that.”
While further addressing Rousey’s AEW status, Khan expressed that she’s welcome any time she wants, referencing the one match she worked for ROH in 2023.
“Ronda’s actually wrestled for me before, but never in AEW. Ronda wrestled in ROH,” Khan noted. “We had a great match a few years ago, also here 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 love that match.
“And when Marina said Ronda was going to be her backup, it was like, ‘Okay, well, everyone’s banned from ringside.’ But once the match was over, Ronda did get involved, she made her presence known, and then Marina really took advantage of the situation, landed a sucker punch on Toni Storm while everybody was very mesmerized that Ronda Rousey was in the house.
“Ronda Rousey is a huge star. So, we have a great relationship with her. She’s wrestled for me before in ROH and she’s always welcome here in AEW anytime.”
At the PPV, Storm defeated Shafir before Rousey showed up to assist her ally. She called out Storm, which led to referees having to break up a confrontation between the two. Shafir then sucker-punched Storm while she was distracted.
“Getting a front row seat to watching this woman shine as her most authentic self brought me so much joy – I’m sorry I couldn’t keep it together better and resist grinning ear to ear all night but I couldn’t be more proud watching @marinashafir’s growth and determination on full display,” Rousey posted on Instagram.
“Thank you @aew and @tonyrkhan for letting me steal the best seat in the house.”
Rousey made her pro wrestling in-ring debut for WWE in 2018 and had two separate runs before wrapping up with the promotion in 2023. This May, she returns to her MMA roots in a highly anticipated clash against Gina Carano that will stream live on Netflix from the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about including a LONG recap of an even longer AEW show, Revolution, which for about the first three hours and thirty minutes was perhaps the best AEW PPV of all time. Then there was the last hour. A lot to talk about, a lot of CONTROVERSIAL OPINIONS, clearly. But a fun show as always so check it out~!
Shortly after the match, our Bryan Alvarez reported that although only a few people in Rousey’s former promotion, WWE, knew about her PPV appearance, most within WWE were “shocked” to see Rousey show up at AEW Revolution.
Rousey appeared following Storm’s victory over Marina Shafir. The two women proceeded to have a confrontation in the ring before security swarmed in. Rousey, who was heavily booed, left the ring with Shafir through the crowd.
Rousey is also set to make her MMA return in May 2026 against Gina Carano under Jake Paul’s MVP, which will be aired on Netflix. Rousey left WWE in 2023 and wrestled a few times on the indies and ROH, where she teamed up with Shafir. Her last match dates back to November 2023.
As her return to MMA looms, former UFC and WWE star Ronda Rousey made her return to the world of wrestling in a surprise appearance at Sunday’s AEW Revolution.
Rousey appeared following Toni Storm’s victory over Marina Shafir, getting into the ring and pointing toward Storm who was lying in the entranceway. She then re-entered the ring and the two began exchanging words before a slew of security ran into the ring to separate them.
Rousey, who was booed, then took off with Shafir through the crowd.
The 39-year-old hasn’t wrestled since November 2023 when she teamed with Shafir against Athena and Billie Starkz at a post-AEW TV Ring of Honor taping in Inglewood, California — part of three matches Shafir and Rousey had in October and November.
She famously had two runs in WWE from April 2018 through April 2019 and January 2022 through August 2023. She’s a former Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion in addition to a former WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion.
.@RONDAROUSEY IS HERE AND CALLING OUT "TIMELESS" TONI STORM!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the ESPN ratings controversy for WWE shows, notes from New Japan and CMLL this week, tons of news from the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano press conference, AEW Dynamite which Dave attended live, plus Collision spoilers and the PPV line-up. A packed show so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: ESPN takes down grades for PLEs after WWE complaints 14:58: Nino Hamburguesa fired by AAA/WWE after fan incident, CMLL notes 22:20: Ratings, NJPW cup update 39:22: Ronda Rousey/Gina Carano press conference notes 53:58: AEW Dynamite recap 1:15:28: AEW Collision spoilers, Revolution lineup
After a decade away from the sport, Ronda Rousey believes she’s returning to MMA as a better fighter than she’s ever been.
Rousey will compete in her first MMA fight since 2016 when she faces off against Gina Carano on May 16. Though her UFC career ended with back-to-back losses, Rousey believes she is smarter and more skilled than she was at the height of her fame.
“I’m better than I’ve ever been. I’m definitely better than I’ve ever been,” she told TMZ Sports this week. “It just really helps so much that the landscape of the sport has changed. You know, people forgot that when I was competing before there were no coaches with MMA experience. There was no one with MMA experience with coaching experience. So usually the person with the most MMA experience on the team was the fighter. And everybody else had their own separate discipline and it was up to the fighter themselves to try and piece things together. Finally with this camp, I have help with that. I’m not just guessing and having to go and spar over and over and over again and try and piece things together and figure things out. It’s us as a team actually developing all of this together.
Rousey admits that she’s not as strong and as explosive as she once was, but she feels she’s made more than enough progress in other areas to make up for that.
“I was more strong and more explosive and, you know, more cartilage and collagen before. But always what set me apart is my technique and how skilled I am as a martial artist,” Rousey said. “And I’ve never been more skilled, my technique’s never been better, I’ve never had a better and higher fight IQ. This is definitely the best that I’ve ever been.”
The Rousey vs. Carano fight is being promoted by MVP Promotions and will air live on Netflix. This marks new territory for the streaming giant, which has never broadcast a live MMA event before. Rousey hopes the show will lead to Netflix investing in MMA more.
“I really want to knock it out of the park and be able to bring fighters the kind of paychecks that they really deserve in this sport,” she said. “I feel like MMA has been really left behind in combat sports when it comes to that. And I want to be part of changing that.”
