Was there a point when reality didn’t feel like a conspiracy theory from Charlie on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Ronda Rousey made a surprise appearance on All Elite Wrestling‘s Revolution seemingly starting a beef with Toni Storm. Rousey was with WWE from 2014 to 2017 and had recently said she was retired from wrestling. It’s unknown how much Rousey will appear with AEW but she has teamed with Marina Shafir who lost to Storm tonight.
Why do we care about professional wrestling? Strap in because this is where things get weird… but it does involve comics and Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros… You can listen to the general mess and insanity that is that corporate acquisition.
In a match that feels like it came out of nowhere, Ronda Rousey will take on Gina Carano in a mixed martial arts fight. If you want a really intelligent take on the upcoming fight and what it means for Paramount, UFC, and Netflix, check out our friends at MMA Draw for a more detailed analysis. But, we’re taking it on from a completely different angle, it’s a comic writer taking on a former Star Wars and Deadpool actor!
Rousey and Carano are both experienced and well respected MMA fighters, both pioneers in women’s professional MMA. Rousey has a record of 12 wins and 2 losses and Carano has 7 wins and 1 loss.
In 2024 it was announced that Ronda Rousey was teaming with publisher AWA to publish her debut graphic novel Expecting the Unexpected with artist Mike Deodato, Jr. The release promoted it as:
…the graphic novel draws on Rousey’s incredible career in the ring and pairs it with Deodato’s martial arts background to create the most accurate and action-packed fight scenes in comics!
The graphic novel was originally crowdfunded raising $80,417 on Kickstarter from 966 backers. It eventually was released in October 2025 to comic shops and bookstores. AWA was initially funded by James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and Elisabeth Murdoch’s SISTER media investment firm contributed funding a few years later. Yes, it’s those Murdochs, as in some of Fox’s Rupert Murdoch’s kids. Remember, Fox was purchased by Disney in 2017. We wouldn’t normally bring that up, but the meta pissing match between rich people in his MMA fight makes the dot connections all the weirder.
Gina Carano dipped her toes into the world of acting with a star making turn in Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire in 2011 after also being in Blood and Bone in 2009 and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 in 2008. She joined the Fast & Furious crew in 2013 but really entered our orbit with her role as Angel Dust in Deadpool (at that time it was a Fox property, later purchased by Disney) and then Cara Dune in The Mandalorian (Star Wars is owned by Disney). Carano was eventually fired by Disney in 2021 for right-wing statements she made on social media leading to a lawsuit that was eventually settled. In the settlement announcement, Carano thanks Elon Musk for footing the legal bill.
Rousey vs. Carano will take place on May 16 and air on Netflix. Paramount is the winning bidder for Warner Bros. Doscovery after Netflix refused to match their increase for the company. Paramount will be purchasing DC Comics in their acquisition of Warner Bros. DC regularly does crossover promotion with AEW as Warner Bros. owns a stake in AEW and is the parent company of DC. Paramount is tied into a business deal for streaming rights with the UFC and leaning heavily into that promotion. The UFC is buddy/buddy with the Trump administration and will have a fight on the White House lawn. The Rousey vs. Carano fight is being put together by Most Valuable Promotions which was established by Jake Paul. Paul, to his credit, has been a vocal critic of the UFC and it underpaying MMA fighters. Jake Paul’s brother Logan Paul currently works for WWE which also has ties to the Trump administration. WWE is the sister company of UFC and a rival organization of AEW.
Rousey has said some horrific stuff in the past and AEW/Warner Bros. have booted individuals from the promotion over past statements and comments, so there’s even more grumbling over this appearance.
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Source: Graphic Policy
