Thunder Rosa On The Importance Of Her Upcoming AEW Dynasty Title Match

AEW star Thunder Rosa is getting a shot at the Women’s World Championship just four months after returning from a serious injury. Rosa will face off against “Timeless” Toni Storm at AEW’s newest pay-per-view, Dynasty, on Sunday, after securing the spot as number one contender with a win over Mariah May on “AEW Dynamite.” Rosa never lost the championship she once held, as the decision for her to vacate the title was made in November 2022 after she suffered a back injury, which ended up keeping her on the shelf for more than 16 months. Rosa discussed her return to pay-per-view on the “KiddKris Show,” and described the impact she’s looking to make.

“I’m going to be on a pay-per-view in two weeks. I have not been on a pay-per-view in two years. This means a lot,” Rosa said. “This championship match means a lot because it’s that’s redemption of… It’s been a fight within myself the past two years to regain what I never lost. It’s very important to say that I never lost this, I had to relinquish because of an injury.” Rosa also called out Storm, due to Storm saying she got injured because she couldn’t carry the title. Rosa had previously taken shots at Storm on social media, where she accused the “Timeless” one of trying to disrespect and harass her on “Dynamite.” Rosa said that she has been in the business long enough to know that she was “living rent free” in Storm’s head.

“Delusional. She should be ‘Delusional Toni Storm,'” she said. “The woman [drank] so much in her lifetime that she lost her mind. She’s absolutely delusional. Everything that comes out of her … mouth, it’s crazy. She might have some sort of disease. She even described it one time when she was on commentary … She lost her mind.”

Former Women’s Champion Returns On AEW Collision

Having not wrestled for well over a year, Thunder Rosa made her return to an AEW ring on last night’s Collision.

There, La Mera Mera came to the assistance of Abadon after the Living Dead Girl was on the receiving end of a two-on-one beatdown from Julia Hart and Skye Blue. That came after Abadon had defeated Jazmin Allure, with the post-match seeing Blue join Julia in attacking the spooky grappler.

Having seen enough, Thunder Rosa made the save, helping Abadon fight off Skye and Hart. A handshake followed between Rosa and Abadon, with it later confirmed that next week’s AEW Collision will feature Thunder Rosa & Abadon vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue.

Thunder Rosa has seen enough!

Watch #AEWCollision LIVE on TNT!@abadon_AEW | @TheJuliaHart | @Skyebyee | @thunderrosa22 pic.twitter.com/OwLcZmpk5A

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) December 17, 2023

Next week’s match will be Thunder’s first bout since an August 2022 episode AEW Dark: Evolution, where she teamed with Hikaru Shida and Toni Storm to pick up a win over Nyla Rose, Emi Sakura and Marina Shafir.

Thunder Rosa was forced to vacate the AEW Women’s Championship shortly before All Out 2022, with severe back problems forcing the one-time NWA Women’s Champion to spend a prolonged spell on the sidelines. While she’s not wrestled for 16 months, Thunder has still been involved with AEW, working as part of the company’s Spanish announce team.

AEW Star Thunder Rosa Provides Return Update, Eyes Current Champion

Thunder Rosa has been out of action in AEW since last November due to a serious back injury. During that time, she was forced to relinquish the AEW Women’s Championship after holding it for 172 days. During a recent episode of “Busted Open Radio’ though, Rosa indicated that her in-ring return was imminent and she’s ready to compete, wanting to step into the ring with whoever holds any of the women’s championships when that is. “It’s really freaking soon,” she said without providing a specific timeline. 

But the former AEW champ centered much of her focus on ROH Women’s World Champion Athena. The pair have been exchanging barbs on X (formerly Twitter) in recent weeks, and Thunder Rosa once again had Athena’s name in her mouth — particularly in discussing a recent bout involving Ronda Rousey at Wrestling REVOLVER’s “Unreal.” Both women would again find themselves on opposite sides of the ring not too long after for a match to be aired on “ROH on HonorClub.”

Athena and Rosa have yet to match up in singles competition in either AEW or ROH. Last year, they wrestled to a time-limit draw at Warrior Wrestling 19, and then later engaged in a Triple Threat affair that included Skye Blue at Warrior Wrestling 20.

Rosa expressed that she would love to fight Athena again but she is really willing to take on anyone after being out of the ring for so long. “When fighters are injured, or they go through a lot of stuff and have to wait to come back … we’re like a dog in a cage, just waiting for a moment to get out.” CMLL’s Stephanie Vaquer and various members of the Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling roster were also thrown out there as possible future opponents.

Top AEW Star Returning From Injury “Very Soon”

Thunder Rosa’s return to the ring looks to be on the imminent horizon.

Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer detailed how La Mera Mera is “expected back very shortly”. Additionally, Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful noted how the talent has been “ready for quite some time”.

Of course, Rosa has been out of action for over a year by this point, with her last match being on an August 2022 edition of AEW Dark: Elevation. There, Thunder teamed with Toni Storm and Hikaru Shida to defeat Emi Sakura, Nyla Rose and Marina Shafir.

Prior to her injury lay-off, Thunder Rosa was the AEW Women’s Champion for 172 days. The hugely talented star was forced to vacate that prize shortly before All Out 2022, with Storm being the one to win that title in a four-way bout against Shida, Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter.

In terms of the issues that have kept Rosa out of the ring for so long, severe back problems have forced the former NWA Women’s Champion to sit on the sidelines, with part of her road to recovery documented on AEW All Access.

While she’s not been able to compete during this time, Thunder Rosa has still stayed busy with AEW, working as part of the company’s Spanish announce team.

Major AEW Name Nearing Return After LONG Absence

Thunder Rosa appears to be on the verge of an AEW return after over a year on the sidelines.

Fightful Select’s sources have indicated that Rosa’s comeback could be “imminent”, with the former Women’s World Champion set to return “any time.” This is pending creative being put together for her, however.

Whether or not Thunder Rosa will return to AEW imminently is currently unclear, though she is finally close to doing so.

Rosa hasn’t competed since August 2022, when she was forced to vacate the AEW Women’s World Championship due to injury. That absence turned out to be longer than originally anticipated, with Rosa documenting her journey back to the ring via her YouTube blog and social media accounts. In July, the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer reported she had commenced training to prepare for the comeback.

A May episode of Dynamite hosted Thunder Rosa’s last AEW appearance. The former title-holder was shown walking into Tony Khan’s office ahead of Collision’s launch, which Fightful reported was “directly tied” to the Saturday night show’s June launch.

Thunder Rosa had been Women’s World Champion for 172 days at the time she let go of the belt.

Mickie James On Britt Baker & Thunder Rosa’s AEW Issues That’ve Been ‘Able To Fester’

Thunder Rosa and Britt Baker were oil and water even before Rosa was injured and had to vacate her AEW Women’s World Championship. On the latest “Busted Open Radio,” Mickie James says that the animosity both helped their feud and was ultimately its untimely undoing.

“Thunder Rosa probably gave Britt one of the best matches of her career, in my opinion,” James said. “Thunder is very good. It’s unfortunate that she got hurt. I think the reason why the whole thing was able to fester was because Thunder already had a bit of a [reputation].” 

James believes that said reputation did not help when rumors around her began to swirl, and says there are similarities between the ways Thunder Rosa and CM Punk both courted controversy during their title runs, which both ended in injury. However, Punk was able to avoid being tarred with the same brush as Rosa. While James respects that Punk and Rosa are outspoken advocates for their passions, she also agreed with co-host Tommy Dreamer that sometimes wrestlers have to work with people they don’t like.

“At the end of the day, this is a business,” James said. “Whether you get along with someone or not, you should still be able to go out there and do business, and do good business.”

James also believes that the AEW women’s locker room didn’t see Thunder Rosa as “one of them,” due to Rosa’s tenure in the NWA, opting to take Britt’s side in the issue. The former Knockouts Champion believes both women are too set in their opinions to ever budge.

“It’s unfortunate that they didn’t get to do better business together,” James chided, noting that the women’s locker room helped feed the rumor mill, which has been running on overdrive recently following comments from veteran independent wrestler LuFisto.

Thunder Rosa Not Expected To Return Before AEW All In

AEW’s debut UK event, All In, is right around the corner and set to play host to over 70,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. The ball got rolling this week with the first match on the card being announced, Adam Cole challenging new bestie MJF for the AEW World Championship. While the women’s side of the card is yet to be built, there has been an update on one star’s involvement — or lack thereof — at the event. 

The star in question is former Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa, who has been absent with lingering injuries since August 2022. She was in the midst of her run as champ when forced out of action, later being stripped after Jamie Hayter defeated Toni Storm for the Interim Title. While she appeared on the lead-in and promotion of “AEW: Collision”, she hasn’t made her return from injury as of yet. Neither will she make an appearance at All In, as Dave Meltzer wrote during this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter that she is not expected back in time for Wembley. 

The news can be considered bittersweet, as Meltzer says she is in the midst of preparing for her return to the company, in line with earlier reports. The women’s division in particular has suffered major absences as of late, with both the likes of Jade Cargill and Hayter joining Rosa on hiatus. The former Women’s Champion has been keeping busy though, making appearances on “Busted Open Radio” and doing work with AEW’s Spanish broadcast team.

Thunder Rosa On AEW Lights Out Match With Britt Baker

Even after two years, and some real-life animosity later, both Britt Baker and Thunder Rosa are very proud of their Lights Out match from a March 2021 episode of “AEW Dynamite,” with both feeling it put their careers on the map. 

Rosa discussed the match recently on “Busted Open Radio,” and revealed that she had many first-time experiences during the match.

“It was my first time bleeding ever on a match,” Rosa said. “It was my first time in a lot of things. I’ve never, ever done a match like that. I remember we were planning the stuff, and in my head, I’m like, ‘Man, I can’t mess up. I just can’t. This is very important for the future of women’s wrestling.’ And I honestly didn’t know how much was going to impact my career. But, to me, that was very, very important.”

Rosa attributed the match’s success to not just her and Baker’s work, but to the buildup of the match, which saw the two feud for several months and even have a singles match in February.

“I think what made it even more impactful was, one, how they developed the story between Britt and I, because it wasn’t like a week [long] buildup,” Rosa said. “I think it was October 2020, after my match with Serena Deeb for the NWA Championship that I lost. She got involved, and I lost the match. So it was a development. It grew into March, and I wasn’t signed either. So the fact that I wasn’t signed, that I won the match … I mean it didn’t count, but I still won the match, everything else, it just built up to that.”

An Update On Thunder Rosa’s AEW Return

Thunder Rosa is edging closer and closer towards an in-ring return in AEW, with company doctor Michael J. Sampson indicating that the former Women’s World Champion is due to be evaluated within the next four-to-six weeks.

Sampson appeared in Thunder Rosa’s vlog series on Thursday, speaking with the AEW star after looking at her latest set of MRI scans. He said that Rosa is “progressing well”, having put the absent star on a week-to-week programme allowing them to take steps backwards where necessary.

Said Dr. Sampson (h/t Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer):

“Looking at the most recent MRIs and all the conservative stuff we’ve done in the past, you’re progressing well right now. You do still have all the pathology in your lower back, L4, L5. I think that with our progression, pushing it to the limit but taking it sequentially, so going week to week to week, we push a little bit more. If we hit a roadblock, we back it up a step. But I think over the next four to six weeks, we’ll see how it’s going.”

Continuing, Sampson stated that the “pain-free” Rosa will keep getting stronger if she progresses down her current path, though her injured back still requires a degree of protection:

“You’ve been progressing very well, pain free. I think if we continued to do that, we know where we stand, gets you stronger, gets you more ring ready. As long as you don’t have that pain, we’re good. We still have to protect your back, the pathology has not gone away. It’s just a matter of, we’re treating it so that it helps you improve yet also protects you from not worsening. So, that’s where we’re at with it.”

Thunder Rosa hasn’t wrestled for AEW since August, when she was forced to drop the AEW Women’s World Championship as her back injury had rendered her unable to compete. In May, she appeared on Dynamite ahead of Collision’s June launch, walking into Tony Khan’s office in a backstage skit.

Injured AEW Star Thunder Rosa Provides Health Update, Says She Might Need Surgery

When Thunder Rosa was unable to defend the AEW Women’s World Championship last August due to a back injury, many assumed that “La Mera Mera” would be returning to the ring imminently, since Toni Storm was crowned the interim champion after winning a grueling four-way match at All Out. However, Rosa would ultimately relinquish the title after Full Gear and has been on a rocky road to recovery ever since. And with the latest update on her condition, it seems that journey isn’t over yet. In an interview with AdFreeShows, the former champion revealed that despite doing everything she could to avoid it, her severe injury may now require surgery.

“It’s been really dark,” she said. “Especially when you think you’re making steps to coming back to the ring and the pain does not leave your body. I’ve done pretty much everything to avoid certain things that you don’t want to do like surgery, but [there are] talks of having to have surgery … Some weeks it’s been very, very dark, and I just feel like I’m never gonna wrestle again, and some other weeks, things are going really well. But when I get in the ring, [that’s when] it’s not well, and you have to be realistic.”

Luckily, Rosa has been able to participate in wrestling in new ways during her time away from the ring. Working as a producer and a Spanish language commentator, in addition to being a critic as a co-host of “Busted Open Radio,” she has learned so much in a backstage role at AEW. That said, Rosa told AFS she doesn’t “feel the same rush that you feel when you’re in the ring” in her new positions.