Ronda Rousey Praises ROH Opponents For Being Down To Work At The Last Minute

Wrestling has been filled with a number of surprises as of late, but Ronda Rousey's pop-up appearance in Ring of Honor was one of the bigger ones. The former UFC star and WWE Women's Champion stunned fans when she teamed with long-time friend Marina Shafir to battle Billie Starkz and ROH Women's World Champion Athena in tag action after leaving WWE earlier this year.

Now a few days removed from the bout, Rousey took to Instagram to comment on the unexpected match. After joking about improving Starkz's haircut with a knee to the face and getting a smile out of the normally stoic Shafir, Rousey went on to thank both Starkz and Athena for wanting to wrestle her and Shafir at the "very last minute." She also complimented both for their recent work in ROH, saying they were "killing it."

Reports have indicated that the catalyst for the ROH contest was a match that occurred the night before at Wrestling Revolver. There, Rousey and Shafir wrestled Starkz and Athena for the first time, with the result being a no contest. Though initially hesitant to let Shafir work the match, AEW owner Tony Khan agreed after reaching a deal with Rousey to work ROH the next day.

Unlike the Revolver bout, the rematch had a decisive winner; Rousey made Billie Starkz tap out to an armbar to pick up the victory. And while a match with Athena was teased after, there are no concrete plans at the moment for Rousey to wrestle again in ROH.