At AEW Revolution 2026, Ronda Rousey made a surprise first appearance in an AEW ring.
The UFC Hall of Famer now finds herself finishing up her career inside the cage with a victory over Gina Carano at the first ever MVP MMA event.
Now that this fight is out of the way, fans could see Rousey making her return to All Elite Wrestling in some form or capacity.
Here are seven potential Ronda Rousey future AEW plans.
7. Joining Marina Shafir In The Death Riders
Ronda Rousey and Marina Shafir are two of the MMA Four Horsewomen, along with Jessamyn Duke and Shayna Baszler
When she first showed up in All Elite Wrestling, Ronda Rousey appeared at AEW Revolution 2026 in support of her best friend Marina Shafir.
Rousey’s last time in a wrestling ring was similar as she teamed with Shafir to face Athena and Billie Starks in Ring of Honor.
After making that appearance at AEW Revolution 2026, Rousey had a notable interaction with Jon Moxley and The Death Riders.
This could lead to Rousey joining Shafir in The Death Riders where she would add a ton of star power to this faction.
6. Accepting Willow Nightingale’s TBS Title Open Challenge
Willow Nightingale has held the TBS Championship in her second reign since AEW New Year’s Smash
Willow Nightingale won the TBS Championship for a second time after defeating Mercedes Mone at the end of 2025.
To start 2026, Nightingale has proven herself to be a fighting champion by instituting a TBS Championship open challenge.
Becoming ‘The Comeback Killer,’ Nightingale has shut down several returning stars and could do the same to someone like Ronda Rousey.
Having Rousey accept Willow’s TBS Title open challenge would be a worthwhile showdown that could garner plenty of attention on a major AEW show.
5. Challenging Athena For The ROH Women’s World Title
Athena won the ROH Women’s World Championship from Mercedes Martinez in December 2022
As previously mentioned, Ronda Rousey made a surprise appearance in Ring of Honor back in 2023.
Teaming with Marina Shafir, two out of the Four Horsewomen picked up a win over Athena and Billie Starkz in a tag team bout.
‘The Fallen Goddess’ has been the ROH Women’s World Champion for over 1,250 days as of this writing and has ran through every challenger who has been put in front of her over the past three years.
Rousey returning to the squared circle to challenge Athena for the gold would be fitting and place her directly into the spotlight where she could be the one to dethrone the ‘Forever’ ROH Women’s World Champion.
4. Facing Thekla For The AEW Women’s World Championship
In addition to being AEW Women’s World Champion, Thekla is also a former Goddess of Stardom Champion
Since arriving in All Elite Wrestling back in 2025, Thekla has become a breakout star in the women’s division.
It did not take Thekla too long before she won the AEW Women’s World Championship by defeating Kris Statlander in February 2026.
‘The Toxic Spider’ now sitting at the top of the AEW women’s division could see her being on the opposite side of the ring from Ronda Rousey.
The UFC Hall of Famer coming into the company and immediately challenging Thekla for the AEW Women’s World Championship feels like a major matchup that might be enough to truly revive the women’s scene in All Elite Wrestling.
3. Entering The Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament
AEW has held the Owen Hart Foundation tournament every year since 2022
On the May 13 edition of AEW Dynamite, the company revealed the bracket for the Owen Hart Foundation Women’s Tournament.
The tournament will include a litany of talented stars from the AEW women’s division as well as from different promotions around the world.
However, Persephone and Sareee are currently sidelined with injuries that could see them both not competing in the tournament.
This opens the door for Ronda Rousey to take one of their spots in The Owen and potentially win the whole thing to challenge for the AEW Women’s World Title at All In London 2026 in Wembley Stadium.
2. Revealed To Be ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm’s Mystery Attacker
Ronda Rousey called her AEW Revolution appearance a “f**k you” to WWE and UFC parent company TKO
At the AEW Revolution 2026 pay-per-view, Ronda Rousey confronted ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm in a memorable showdown.
Coming to the aid of her best friend Marina Shafir, Rousey went face-to-face with Storm and teased a potential matchup between the two.
However, Storm was laid out and left in a pool of blood backstage by a mystery attacker following the event.
After weeks of everyone not having answers, Rousey could return to reveal that she is in fact the mystery attacker who took out Storm back in March.
1. Rekindle Rivalry With Mercedes Mone
Back in 2019, Ronda Rousey found herself embroiled in a feud with Mercedes Mone that saw these two big names clash in the ring.
In arguably the best match of her pro wrestling career, Rousey defeated Mone, then known as Sasha Banks, at the WWE Royal Rumble 2019 event.
Now that Mone finds herself as the biggest star in the AEW women’s division, it could be Rousey who comes in to challenge for that spot.
Rousey rekindling her rivalry with ‘The CEO’ is the kind of battle that can steal headlines and become the most high profile women’s match in AEW history.
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