Ronda Rousey's AEW Revolution 2026 Appearance Was A 'Little Bit Of A F*ck You' To TKO

Ronda Rousey has confirmed her appearance at AEW Revolution 2026 was partly motivated to be a "little bit of a f*ck you" to TKO Group Holdings, the parent company of UFC and WWE.

This comes after Rousey held talks with UFC for over a year about a return to the organisation for a fight with Gina Carano. Those talks ultimately broke down, though, and the fight will instead be taking place under the MVP Promotions banner on May 16, with the event airing on Netflix.

Speaking about her AEW Revolution appearance on a new vlog, Rousey stated: "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. 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."

Ronda Rousey also praised her close friend Marina Shafir on the vlog. Rousey appeared at Revolution following Shafir's loss to Toni Storm and she ended up having a pull-apart brawl with Storm.

This suggested Rousey would make further appearances for All Elite Wrestling but it has since emerged there are no plans for Rousey to work with AEW anytime soon and her appearance was simply a one-off for Revolution to support Marina Shafir and promote her MMA return.

Toni Storm also won't be wrestling for AEW for the remainder of 2026, although the four-time AEW Women's World Champion is not dealing with an injury.

H/T F4WOnline