Ronda Rousey is finally opening up about her surprise AEW appearance — and while explaining why it happened, she also took multiple shots at WWE and Vince McMahon.
After Rousey appeared at AEW Revolution to confront Toni Storm and help Marina Shafir attack her, many fans expected the moment to lead into a larger AEW storyline. However, PWInsider later reported the appearance was only intended as a one-off tied to Rousey promoting her MMA comeback fight and supporting Shafir, one of her closest real-life friends.
Now, Rousey herself is confirming that while also admitting part of the appearance was meant as a subtle shot toward WWE. While speaking to Complex Sports, Rousey explained that the situation came together naturally because of her friendship with Shafir, who she has known since childhood through judo.
“It didn’t hurt to be a little bit, you know, catty with it, but it was just so serendipitous that Marina Shafir is my best friend. We grew up doing judo together when we were little kids, and I asked her, ‘Hey, is AEW going to be in town while I’m promoting this fight? Because I would love to do a run-in or something and help you out.’ So, it was just really serendipitous that it all happened to work out like that.”
Rousey also explained that being present for Shafir’s first AEW pay-per-view match made the moment even more meaningful personally.
“It was her first ever pay-per-view match, and I’m really glad that I got to be there for that.”
But then Rousey turned directly toward comparing AEW and WWE — and made it very clear she felt far more comfortable in AEW’s environment. According to Rousey, AEW’s less restrictive presentation allowed her to feel more authentic instead of overly controlled.
“One thing I really love about AEW is that it’s not PG like WWE, so I can walk in there and flick everybody off and walk out and laugh with my best friend and have a great time. I didn’t feel as edited as before. So yeah, it was a good time.”
When asked directly whether she felt heavily edited during her WWE run, Rousey immediately agreed. She also claimed fans could usually tell the difference between promos she personally shaped versus material that was heavily scripted for her.
“Oh, yeah. I felt like I was doing somebody else’s impression of myself. “You can tell when I was allowed to write my own promos and when I wasn’t.”
Even while criticizing WWE creatively, Rousey admitted she still enjoyed parts of her wrestling career overall — though she specifically singled out Vince McMahon’s leadership era as something she struggled with.
“I really enjoyed my time in the ring. I didn’t really enjoy being under the death throes of Vince McMahon’s reign, but there were a lot of great experiences in there.”
Rousey’s comments make one thing crystal clear — she felt far more comfortable being herself in AEW than she ever did inside WWE’s system. Bottom line — Ronda Rousey may have only made one AEW appearance, but she’s now openly admitting the experience felt more authentic than large portions of her WWE run ever did.
Do you think Ronda Rousey fit better in AEW’s less scripted environment, or did WWE still present her as a bigger overall star? Leave your thoughts and feedback below.
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