Ronda Rousey says she enjoys AEW more than WWE.
In an recent interview with Complex’s Matt Welty, Ronda Rousey addressed her AEW appearance at Revolution 2026, where she confronted Toni Storm following her match against Marina Shafir. She also reacted to her earlier comments describing the appearance as an “F-you” to the TKO Group.
Rousey explained that the experience felt natural and unplanned, especially because Marina Shafir is her close friend from their childhood judo days. She revealed that she reached out to see if AEW would be in town so she could potentially do a run-in and support her. She said she appreciated being part of Shafir’s first-ever pay-per-view match and was glad to be there for it.
“I mean, it didn’t hurt. It would be a little bit like a little, you know, catty with it, but it was just so serendipitous that Marina Shafir is like my best friend. We grew up doing judo together when we were little kids and I asked her, like, hey, is AEW gonna be in town while I’m promoting this fight because I would love to do like a run-in or something and help you out. So it was just really serendipitous that it all worked out like that. And it was her first ever pay-per-view match. And I’m really glad that I got to be there for that.”
Ronda Rousey also highlighted that she enjoys AEW’s less restrictive, non-PG environment compared to WWE, saying it allows her to express herself more freely, have fun with her friend, and feel less restricted or “edited,” which made the overall experience enjoyable.
“And 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.”
According to Rousey, she often felt like she was acting out a version of herself that wasn’t authentic in WWE.
“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, you know, and I learned a lot from it. And 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.”
Fans can revisit WrestleZone’s full coverage of AEW Revolution here.
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