Tony Khan says Ronda Rousey has a standing invitation to return to AEW whenever she wants it. The AEW president addressed the former UFC and WWE star’s future with the company on the Double or Nothing media call on Thursday, May 21.

Asked whether Rousey could have a run in AEW now that her MMA commitments are finished, Khan kept the door wide open. “I’ve enjoyed working with her in Ring of Honor and having her at AEW Revolution. Anytime she wants to come back to AEW, she’s welcome,” Khan said, calling Rousey a tremendous fighter and a good person to have around the promotion.

The catch is timing. Khan acknowledged that Rousey is focused on her family right now, which limits how involved she can be in wrestling. That lines up with what Rousey herself said after her MMA return on May 16, when she submitted Gina Carano in 17 seconds on Netflix and announced her retirement from the sport. “I want to have some more babies and I’ve got to get cooking,” Rousey told the crowd at the Intuit Dome.


Rousey is not signed to AEW. Her only appearance for the company came at March’s Revolution pay-per-view, when she emerged from the crowd to confront Toni Storm and back up her childhood friend Marina Shafir.

In a YouTube vlog posted afterward, Rousey said the unannounced stop carried a message for her former employer.

"It’s kind of a cool 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,” Rousey said.

She saw no issue with it, noting the appearance promoted the show without being advertised.

The confrontation with Storm was never followed up. Storm has been off AEW television since March and is expected to miss the rest of 2026, which removed the most obvious opponent for any Rousey program.

Fightful previously reported that Rousey was not signed and had no confirmed additional dates, though AEW remained open to bringing her back.

For now, Khan’s comments amount to an open offer rather than a plan. The welcome mat is out, but Rousey’s next move appears to be at home rather than in the ring.