Ronda Rousey recalls surprise pro wrestling appearances after WWE, talks whether she'll return to that world

All Elite Wrestling star MVP talks to Fox News Digital about Tony Khan's leadership, working with the Hurt Syndicate.

Ronda Rousey is a legend in combat sports, helping to usher in a new era in mixed martial arts in UFC and women’s wrestling with WWE.

Rousey’s absence from pro wrestling was much shorter than her decision to return to an MMA cage. She departed WWE in October 2023 following a rivalry with Shayna Baszler. It was only two weeks after she left the company that she showed up on the independent scene.

"The Baddest Woman on the Planet" was all of a sudden appearing at Lucha VaVoom and Pro Wrestling Revolve before making an appearance with Ring of Honor. She told Fox News Digital that she wanted to work with her friend, Marina Shafir.

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Ronda Rousey holds a trophy onstage after becoming the first female inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame at The Pearl concert theater at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev., on July 5, 2018. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

"By the time 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 figure something out.’ And I just had a short, little window for some reason to be able to do it. We were trying to get pregnant again," she said. "We were going to start IVF early in the year.

"We couldn’t really find anything that worked out. So, we reached out to Pro Wrestling Revolver and were like let’s do a charity show to raise money for the Lahaina wildfire survivors. So, that’s kind of how that all came about. There was also a Lucha VaVoom show we were also able to crash in the meantime."

Rousey