Thunder Rosa provided an injury update during an episode of her vlog released on Thursday.
Rosa hasn’t wrestled in a year. Her last match took place on August 10, 2022 at a Dark: Elevation taping in Minnesota. However, AEW’s head physician Doc Sampson says she could be cleared to return in as little as three weeks.
“Good news, she’s been doing well,” Sampson says on the show. “She’s been religious with her training, as she always has been, doing everything we’ve asked her do.”
Sampson continued to say that Rosa will wrestle a five-minute match at AEW’s show in Greensboro on Saturday as part of her rehab.
“We’re going to do like a five-minute mini match and see how you tolerate that,” he said to Rosa. “We’re just taking the steps up and if that looks good, we’re almost there.”
Rosa proposed three weeks as a potential timeline for her to be cleared.
“I think that’s fair,” Sampson responded. “Next week will be a telltale sign.”
Injury updates are available for several wrestlers on the AEW roster.
Our own Dave Meltzer addressed the status of Bryan Danielson, Thunder Rosa, and Jamie Hayter in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Regarding Danielson, he underwent surgery on 7/3 to repair the broken arm he suffered in his match against Kazuchika Okada at Forbidden Door. He’s expected to be out until October but returning in time for AEW Grand Slam in September is not entirely out of the question.
“Bryan Danielson got his surgery for his broken arm on 7/3 and at the time was told three months before he could return, although it’s possible he could beat that by a week or two,” Meltzer wrote.
Regarding Jamie Hayter, she isn’t expected back until February. The former AEW Women’s World Champion hasn’t wrestled since Double or Nothing 2023 in May.
“The current estimated return time for Jamie Hayter is February, due to various injuries, although that’s at best a rough estimate,” Meltzer wrote.
Thunder Rosa has been training for an in-ring return but is not expected back in time for All In.
“As of this week, add Thunder Rosa to the list of those who are not expected back in time for Wembley although she is training for her return,” Meltzer wrote.
Rosa hasn’t wrestled in nearly a year due to injuries to her lower back. Her last match was on an episode of Dark: Elevation on 8/10 last year.
Dave Meltzer and I are back with Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and a few things that have happened since it came out.
We discussed the following:
Vince McMahon’s spinal surgery
The latest on Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, and the Young Bucks
AEW Dynamite ratings
Updates on Jade Cargill, Jamie Hayter, Jim Ross and Thunder Rosa
AEW Collision
Thoughts on the Bam Bam Bigelow Dark Side of the Ring episode
Thunder Rosa could be closer to making her in-ring return.
Rosa posted an episode of her vlog on Thursday, which featured a discussion with Dr. Michael J. Sampson, AEW’s head physician. Sampson told Rosa that after looking at her most recent MRIs, she still has pathology in her lower back but he’s pleased with how she’s progressing. Sampson wants to see how she is doing in six weeks.
Sampson said:
Looking at the most recent MRIs and all the conservative stuff we’ve done in the past, you’re progressing well right now. You do still have all the pathology in your lower back, L4, L5. I think that with our progression, pushing it to the limit but taking it sequentially, so going week to week to week, we push a little bit more. If we hit a roadblock, we back it up a step. But I think over the next four to six weeks, we’ll see how it’s going.
You’ve been progressing very well, pain free. I think if we continued to do that, we know where we stand, gets you stronger, gets you more ring ready.As long as you don’t have that pain, we’re good. We still have to protect your back, the pathology has not gone away. It’s just a matter of, we’re treating it so that it helps you improve yet also protects you from not worsening. So, that’s where we’re at with it.
Rosa asked Sampson if they were looking at about another six weeks of recovery. He responded:
I would say that’s a good shooting point or goal point to go to, six weeks to see how we go with that.
It has been nearly 11 months since Rosa wrestled a match. She teamed with Toni Story and Hikaru Shida to defeat Emi Sakura, Marina Shafir, and Nyla Rose on the August 10, 2022, edition of AEW Dark. She had just successfully defended her AEW Women’s title against Jamie Hayter five days earlier at Battle of the Belts III.
It was announced in February that Rosa had joined AEW’s Spanish Commentary team and has been back on the road with the company. She was also a featured name mentioned when AEW announced its new Saturday night show, Collision on TNT.
Thunder Rosa says she’s training hard for an in-ring return but it’s not clear when that might take place.
The former AEW Women’s Champion recently provided an injury update to NBC Chicago.
Rosa said of her recovery:
It’s going pretty well. Things are going as they are supposed to go. I am super happy that I’ve been pain-free, that’s the most important part, I think, it took forever.
Everybody’s expecting me to give them news but I am working out every day trying to get back in the ring as soon as possible and if it’s possible, that’s what I’m trying to do.
Along with CM Punk, Miro, Andrade El Idolo and others, Rosa was announced as part of the roster for AEW Collision. She appeared in a backstage segment during the May 10 edition of Dynamite and was shown entering Tony Khan’s office.
However, our own Dave Meltzer reported in the May 29 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that question were being asked regarding pushing Rosa as one of the brand’s top stars considering her injury status.
Meltzer wrote:
There were a lot of questions regarding bringing [Rosa] back on television two weeks ago and pushing her as one of the stars for Collision since there is no timetable for her to return and if she does need surgery it would be months.
Rosa has been back on the road with AEW since February as part of the Spanish broadcast team. In April, she revealed that she apologized to the locker room upon returning.
Two stars made surprise returns to AEW in backstage segments during Wednesday’s Dynamite.
Miro, who last wrestled for the company in September 2022, and Thunder Rosa, who last wrestled in August 2022, both appeared on Wednesday’s show, teasing the upcoming announcement of AEW’s Collision show.
Both stars were approached by Renee Paquette for interviews in their surprise appearances, and both entered Tony Khan’s office to talk to AEW’s CEO, GM, owner, and head of creative.
Khan made an appearance of his own on Dynamite and made off-handed references to both returning stars, saying that wrestlers were literally lining up backstage for the opportunity to wrestle, and that he knows that AEW is capable of producing more content.
Khan promised a “huge announcement” from AEW on TNT next Wednesday, and promised that there would be follow-up to the announcement on next Wednesday’s Dynamite on TBS.
Miro wrestled just four times for AEW in 2022, and we reported last December that he had rejected creative plans that would have seen him wrestle at Full Gear last November.
Thunder Rosa suffered an injury last year that forced her to vacate the AEW Women’s World Championship. Rosa addressed rumors that her injury was overblown, insisting that she was indeed injured, but said that she “took accountability” and apologized to the AEW locker room for “some things that people had issues with” regarding her absence and vacating the title.
Rosa returned to the company as an announcer for Spanish-language broadcasts in February, but has not wrestled since August 10, 2022.
Thunder Rosa has addressed criticism of her remaining AEW Women’s champion for months while injured.
The end to Rosa’s title reign last year has been a focal point of episodes of AEW All Access recently, with Britt Baker critical of Rosa remaining champion for months while injured. Rosa addressed these concerns today on Busted Open Radio, saying the decision not to vacate the belt immediately was made by Tony Khan.
Rosa said:
First and foremost I want to make sure that people understand that at the beginning of all this drama, everybody was speculating that I wasn’t hurt, it started with that. And then it was proven that I was hurt. There’s MRIs, they talked to my doctor, I had multiple epidurals and now, I’m still not cleared. I had another MRI last week and the pain is still there.
For me personally, I wanted to drop the title the day that they told me I couldn’t wrestle because I was going to be out for four to six weeks.
Rosa continued:
My boss made that decision. He said, ‘You are going to be the champion and we will have an interim champion.’ For me, as a competitor, I wanted to make it fair so my peers had a chance to [wrestle for] the championship because it wasn’t fair that I wasn’t there, I wasn’t going to be there, and I was going to hold the title.
Rosa is hoping the focus of the AEW women’s division will now be on the active storylines in the company and not the issues between her and Baker. She’s been back on the road with the company since February working on the Spanish broadcast team and says she’s apologized to the locker room since returning.
We got to respect the people that are now representing the company. I’m representing the company in a different manner. I have talked to the locker room and I took accountability for things that some people had issues with and I went out there and apologized. And that’s the best thing that I can do because I want to make money, I want to make sure that I am able to work with everyone regardless of if we have any issues or not.
Earlier in the show, Rosa revealed that she recently experienced a setback in her recovery.
I have not been cleared. There’s more things that have happened in the last couple of weeks because I’ve gotten in the ring. Unfortunately, the pain is still there and it’s very frustrating because I want to get in the ring and I want to do what I do best, that is wrestle.
As she recovers from a back injury that has kept her out of action for six months, Thunder Rosa will be part of the AEW Spanish language broadcast team.
The former AEW Women’s Champion announced the news Tuesday on Twitter, adding that she will also be an on-screen personality for the AEW Spanish language broadcasts.
Exciting news, #AEW fans! While my recovery continues, I'll join @AEW as a Spanish commentator & on-screen personality. I'm thrilled to be able to serve Spanish-speaking fans in this unique way. Health is a journey with ups and downs. Meanwhile, I'll see you from the booth!
Dave Meltzer reported last Friday that Rosa had joined the Spanish language broadcast team for Dynamite in El Paso, Texas. There was no indication at that point whether it would be longer than a one-shot deal.
There is no indication as to when Rosa will return to in-ring action. She had to relinquish the title last August ahead of a scheduled title defense at All Out against Toni Storm, later revealed to be due to a back injury that some were questioning the severity of.
In December, Rosa revealed she was able to walk/jog a 5K and resume lifting weights but had not started any in-ring work at that point.
Months after being forced to take a break due to a bad back injury, former AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa quietly returned to AEW this past Wednesday.
According to Dave Meltzer in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rosa was in El Paso, Texas, Wednesday as part of the Spanish commentary team for Dynamite.
Rosa, who has adopted San Antonio, Texas, as her U.S. hometown, wasn’t shown on camera. It’s unknown if this will be a regular occurence until she returns to action.
She was also part of the ceremony for the proclamation of AEW Day in El Paso on Monday. She, Mark Henry and El Paso native Vickie Guerrero also took part.
Rosa hasn’t been seen on TV since relinquishing the AEW Women’s title in a quick backstage promo in late-August 2022 that took her out of a scheduled title defense against Toni Storm.
In October, she said she was hopeful for a January return but that did not come to pass. In December, she said she was able to walk/jog a 5K and weight lift again, but had not done any ring work.
Notable matches scheduled for the show include The Dark Order vs. Serpentico, Peter Avalon & Ryan Nemeth. Brooke Havok will also return to AEW for the first time in nearly two years when she faces Emi Sakura in singles action.
Rush & Preston Vance, The Butcher & The Blade, Skye Blue, Ari Daivari, and Tony Nese will all be in action as well.
This week’s episode was filmed Wednesday, January 18, 2023, from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
AEW Dark: Elevation airs at 7 p.m. Eastern time on YouTube. The advertised lineup for the show is as follows:
Dark Order’s Alex Reynolds, John Silver, & Evil Uno vs. Serpentico, Ryan Nemeth & Peter Avalon
The Butcher & The Blade w/ The Bunny vs. David McCallion & Richie Slade
Ari Daivari & Tony Nese w/ Mark Sterling vs. Big Fonz & Jordan Cruz
Skye Blue vs. Zoe Dubois
La Faccion Ingobernable’s Rush & Perro Peligroso Preston Vance vs. Papacito Negro & Papacito Blanco
The former AEW Women’s Champion revealed the latest on her recovery in a vlog she posted on Sunday. Rosa says she’s been able to resume lifting weights and participated in a 5k recently but has still not been able to get back in the ring yet.
“The recovery is going really well,” Rosa said. “This week I was just able to do squats with a two-pound dumbbell. I haven’t done any lifting for the last four or five months so this is huge.”
“Actually, two weeks ago I was able to do a 5k, which I walked half of it. I just want to say that because I’m not allowed to run, I can jog but that’s pretty much it. So those are big milestones for me.”
“I have not been able to be in the ring yet so we’re working on that,” she continued.
Rosa has been dealing with a back injury over the last year and revealed in August that she would not be able to defend her title against Toni Storm at All Out. An interim title was created in Rosa’s absence but her claims to the belt were relinquished on the November 23 edition of Dynamite. The interim tag was then removed from both Jamie Hayter and Toni Storm’s championship reigns.
We had a pretty noteworthy episode of AEW Dynamite unfold today.
Topics include: The Elite in Chicago dividing the crowd, a major announcement regarding the AEW Women’s division, the Blackpool Combat Club falling apart, and much more!
Tune in as Denise Salcedo breaks down the show on Speak Now Pro Wrestling.
Jamie Hayter is officially the AEW Women’s World Champion after the company announced that Thunder Rosa had relinquished the championship.
On Wednesday’s Dynamite, Renee Paquette announced that due to the injuries to Thunder Rosa and the uncertainty regarding when she will return, AEW have asked Rosa to forfeit the women’s title. Paquette then introduced Hayter as the new AEW Women’s World Champion.
Rosa responded to the news on Twitter, thanking AEW and her fans.
“Thank you #ThunderArmy for all the support and @aew for being there for me,” she wrote. “Dream-like moments happened in this run, and this is not how I wanted to lose the championship, but you deserve a present champion; on to the next chapter.”
Rosa announced shortly before All Out that she would not be able to defend the title against Toni Storm due to a back injury. Storm ended up winning the match at All Out, which was changed to a four-way for the interim championship between Storm, Hayter, Britt Baker, and Hikaru Shida.
After All Out, Hayter and Storm continued to feud. At Full Gear this past Saturday, Hayter won the interim championship from Storm with the help of Baker. Commentators mentioned on Wednesday’s show that Storm’s reign as interim champion will retroactively be recognized as a result of Rosa relinquishing the championship.
Tony Khan has addressed the AEW interim Women’s World Championship situation.
The AEW President appeared on Barstool Rasslin and spoke about possibly removing the interim tag from Toni Storm’s title reign.
“The champion, Thunder Rosa, has been out injured so we’ll see. I’ve wanted to give Thunder Rosa every opportunity to come back and defend the championship,” Khan said. “She’s been out a while, so we’ll have to see. It’s a difficult choice but I do think the interim champion’s been out there and the interim champion is Toni Storm, who is one of the biggest free agent signings we’ve ever had.”
“Toni Storm comes in and she’s gone out every week and had great matches almost every week on TV,” Khan continued.
Khan would also talk about the match between Storm and Jamie Hayter at AEW Full Gear on Saturday.
“You have this huge free agent, this big star Toni Storm, who came in with a great reputation and a lot of TV experience and millions of people knew who she was when she arrived vs. Jamie Hayter, who’s really risen to worldwide prominence on AEW television.”
“They’ve both become really key figures in AEW and it’s going to be great to have this match, the interim Women’s World Championship but certainly whoever wins it will truly be a world champion.”
Rosa addressed her injury status last month during an appearance on Busted Open Radio. She noted that she is hoping to return in January.
“I am still hurt. They haven’t given me a time yet when I’m coming back. I’m saying it’s January and I hope it is January. And again, if Toni Storm disagrees with what was decided in the back, that is not my problem,” she said. “When I get better, I will still be the champion if my boss lets me be the champion. If he doesn’t, I will be okay with that decision too, because I don’t make the rules and that needs to be said.”
During an interview with The Ringer released on Thursday, Storm addressed her thoughts on the title situation.
“Personally, I think she should just come to work and defend her championship like she’s supposed to, like a champion should,” Storm said. “But if the injury lingers too long, I believe she should probably be stripped. And then I should be the AEW undisputed Women’s World Champion like I was supposed to be at All Out. That’s verbatim. I think she should defend her title. I think all champions should defend that championship. That doesn’t just go for Thunder Rosa. That goes for everybody.”
Thunder Rosa said she is hopeful for a January return and a return to training in a few weeks, but is upset at still needing to address her critics while she is recovering.
Appearing on Busted Open Radio Friday, the AEW Women’s Champion addressed the current state of things and seemed to take aim at recent comments interim champion Toni Storm made about ending the “interim title nonsense” when she is “doing the work” every week.
“I am still hurt. They haven’t given me a time yet when I’m coming back. I’m saying it’s January and I hope it is January. And again, if Toni Storm disagrees with what was decided in the back, that is not my problem,” she said. “When I get better, I will still be the champion if my boss lets me be the champion. If he doesn’t, I will be okay with that decision too, because I don’t make the rules and that needs to be said.”
She added that she will get an epidural in the next two weeks so she can begin training for that January return target.
“I feel your pain, Toni Storm. I really do feel your pain. I really know and I read that you are doing all the work every single week. Guess what? I’m doing the same work. I am trying to get better to get back in the ring to defend this championship. But in the meantime, get some wins under your belt, so you can talk sh*t about Thunder Rosa.”
Rosa said that veterans in the business, and not just in AEW, “have informed me that there are widespread lies going on in different parts and I’m part of these rumors or whatever.” She said the Storm comments came as no surprise as she has been mentioned either good or bad in the media despite not being on TV for two months.
Rosa took on critics of her in-ring work:
“As a Latina, it is very hard to make a name for yourself because I’m not a second-generation wrestler. I’m self-made and I had the opportunity and I had the great, great chance to work in many different companies where they believe in my work. And sometimes, it just takes one privileged person or one person with clout to like a tweet and destroy everything you’ve done. It influences how fans see and perceive you as a wrestler.”
Rosa then addressed critics of her not being stripped of the title while she is injured.
“If you’re in the back and you are in distress about me being the champion or me being called the champion, I don’t call the shots. I have a boss and there’s a booker in our office that makes the decisions. So, if you’re distraught about what is being booked, maybe you should talk to the booker and keep my name out of your mouth,” she said.
“It is really hard when people are approaching you and they’re still asking you…because I have some friends who are still asking me if I’m faking an injury. These rumors are started by one or two people and they just spread out and it’s not fair. I don’t feel like no other wrestler has gone through this, like not at all. Somebody gets hurt, it’s like ‘Oh, they are hurt.’ But when it was me, it was like immediate. After everybody was writing ‘Get well’ on Twitter after my promo came out, it was just a flood of disgusting things that were not true that came out.”
“I am hurt and if you have something to ask, you can go on my YouTube and watch my YouTube videos,” she continued. “I have posted every time I’m in a doctor’s office, showing to you and explaining to you what’s going with me.”
“As a matter of fact, in a week or two, I’m getting another epidural so I can go back to training because I want to get back in the ring. I want to get back in the ring and that’s it. And I want to show you when they put the needle in my back so they can shut the f**k up and stop saying that I am not hurt. That hurts because I’m trying to get out and trying to get mentally prepared to get back in the ring, to get back to do what I love the most which is professional wrestling. But again there are certain people who cannot keep my name out of their mouth.”
“I want to get better mentally, physically, and spiritually. When people have absolutely nothing to do but to create rumors and spread them out instead of texting me directly – because y’all got my number – it creates a lot of problems in my career too, with my family, because my family is worried, they get harassed, they get everything else.”
Rosa spoke about not being able to raise as much money as she’d hoped for victims of the Uvalde school shooting.
“I will never forget that time that I was trying to raise money for Uvalde’s families. I was trying to raise money for 20 families that lost their kids and I don’t know who the heck decided it was a great idea to talk to the dirt sheets and talk s**t about me. And unfortunately, we’re not able to raise money like we tried to. We only raised $5000, which is nothing. They took away the goodness that we were trying to do for other purposes. Like, what is the purpose of trying to destroy somebody’s career or somebody’s status when they work so hard and the only thing that they are trying to do is to feed their family.”
