Speculation has been running wild on the professional wrestling future of Ronda Rousey after the multi-time WWE Women’s Champion made a surprise debut in Ring of Honor last month. During a special Thanksgiving edition of ROH TV, Rousey emerged victorious alongside close friend Marina Shafir over Billie Starkz and ROH Women’s World Champion Athena. Rousey even got a visual pin over Athena and made motions that she wanted the champion’s title, suggesting that she may have a future in ROH and/or its partner promotion AEW.
However, the possibility was shot down in a report from Dave Meltzer last week. Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Meltzer noted that there are no plans for Rousey to appear in ROH again, nor make her debut in AEW, any time soon. He went on to add that she is simply looking to do wrestling for fun from now on and that her ROH appearance stemmed from a deal between Tony Khan and independent promotion The Wrestling Revolver, which featured Rousey & Shafir vs. Starkz & Athena at their own event the night before the ROH taping, as well as Rousey doing a personal favor for Shafir.
Now, Rousey herself has directly addressed the speculation regarding a possible future in AEW. Speaking to TMZ Sports, Rousey was asked about the possibility of her wrestling for AEW in the near future. “No, no, I don’t think so,” she replied. When asked why, Rousey stated that she’s focusing on her family at the moment: “Just trying to be home with the family, and be a full-time mom.”
Back in August, UFC President Dana White cited the same reason as to why she would not be returning to UFC. He was forced to reiterate the point once again when a rumor emerged a week later that Rousey was eying a return to the mixed martial arts promotion for UFC 300 in 2024.