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Ronda Rousey is a martial arts legend who helped usher in a new era in mixed martial arts with the UFC and women’s wrestling with the WWE.
Rousey’s absence from pro wrestling was much shorter than her decision to return to an MMA cage. She left WWE in October 2023 after a rivalry with Shayna Baszler. It was only two weeks after she left the company that she appeared on the independent scene.
“The Baddest Woman on the Planet” suddenly appeared on Lucha VaVoom and Pro Wrestling Revolve before appearing with Ring of Honor. She told Pakinomist Digital that she wanted to work with her friend, Marina Shafir.
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Ronda Rousey holds a trophy on stage after becoming the first woman inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame at The Pearl concert theater at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., on July 5, 2018. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“When I was out, I was like, I would still love to work with Marina because Marina was still active, and we were trying to figure out, ‘Oh, when you were in town, maybe we can work something out.’ And I just had a short, little window for some reason to be able to do that. We were trying to get pregnant again,” she said. “We were supposed to start IVF early in the year.
“We couldn’t really find anything that worked. So we reached out to Pro Wrestling Revolver and were like let’s do a charity show to raise money for the survivors of the Lahaina wildfires. So that’s kind of how it all came about. There was also a Lucha VaVoom show that we were able to crash in between as well.”
Rousey appeared on Pro Wrestling Revolver and then stepped back into the shadows – that was until last March.
She was in the middle of training camp for her return MMA bout against Gina Carano when she appeared at the Crypto.com Arena to confront “Timeless” Toni Storm following her match with Shafir at All Elite Wrestling’s (AEW) Revolution pay-per-view in March.
RONDA ROUSEY SURPRISES AT AEW REVOLUTION
While she received questions about doing a match at the time, she said there was no way she would because she had to focus on the Carano fight.
“So, then we got to do the Revolver show, and it was great, and then this last run-in with AEW,” Rousey said. “I didn’t get to do anything at all because I was in training camp and all these people, we’re like, ‘Oh, is Ronda going to play a match?’ I’m like in training camp. You guys are crazy. I won’t be playing any games while I’m in training camp. … I love Toni Storm, I love Marina, and it was fun to be there for Marina’s first pay-per-view match, too. I didn’t want to take away from their moment, but maybe add a little bit of fun to it and a little push for my upcoming fight.”
Now, Rousey’s appearance with AEW coincided with Storm being attacked during an AEW storyline on the next episode of “Dynamite” after Revolution.
Pakinomist Digital asked Rousey if she was the one who attacked Storm.
“Oh, I wasn’t ready for that question…next question, next question,” she said, jokingly clearing her throat.
But Rousey made it clear that getting involved in pro wrestling full-time or even part-time would be a huge effort that wasn’t conducive to what she wanted to do with her life moving forward.
“I think we’re just trying to have another child now and all of this,” Rousey said. “The lifestyle, being on the road and wrestling, it’s just not conducive to having more children at all.
“We were able to make it work for a while. It just can’t be done anymore. I could be open to doing some things if it works out and it’s local. We’re looking to move to Hawaii and it would be pretty cool to open a small school.”
Ronda Rousey watches before her featherweight bout against Gina Carano during the main card of Netflix’s Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on May 16, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix)
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Rousey proved to be one of the greatest mixed martial artists when she quickly defeated Carano in a dream match earlier this month.
Days later, she added another accolade to her impressive resume. She teamed up with Castrol to become the oil company’s new brand ambassador.
“I’m the best at what I do, and I wouldn’t want to work with anyone unless they’re the best at what they do. Fortunately, Castrol is,” Rousey said, adding that shooting the commercial for the company was “really fun” and a high-quality experience.
Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano pose for a photo after their featherweight bout during the main card of Netflix’s Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California on May 16, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix)
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The campaign will have Rousey highlight “Castrol EDGE Extended Performance’s proven ability to perform in 7 critical areas – pressure, power, fuel economy, high temperature performance, cleanliness, wear protection and endurance,” according to a press release.
