WWE and AEW Rumors on Ronda Rousey, Rey Mysterio, Gunther, WrestleMania and Santos Escobar's Injury

Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe and All Elite Wrestling.

AEW's Reported Internal Reaction to Rousey's Arrival

AEW reportedly accomplished its goal by having Ronda Rousey make a surprise appearance at the Revolution pay-per-view last weekend.

According to WrestleVotes on Fightful Select (h/t Steve Carrier of Ringside News), AEW wanted to "elicit a reaction" by bringing in Rousey, which is precisely what happened among fans on social media, even if the response was largely negative or mixed at best.

With regard to those within AEW, WrestleVotes noted that there was "no negative reaction" and "no backlash" over Rousey showing up.

Rousey first rose to prominence as one of the biggest UFC stars in history before transitioning to the world of pro wrestling with WWE.

Over two separate WWE stints, Rousey was a three-time women's champion, one-time women's tag team champion and one-time women's Royal Rumble winner. She was also part of the first women's match to ever main event WrestleMania against Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 35.

Rousey departed WWE in 2023, and she shockingly resurfaced in the AEW-owned ROH shortly thereafter, teaming with Marina Shafir in a one-off match against Athena and Billie Starkz in November 2023.

More recently, Rousey announced her return to MMA, as she will fight Gina Carano as part of a Most Valuable Promotions card in May.

At Revolution, Rousey showed up after Toni Storm's victory over Shafir. She confronted and distracted Storm, which allowed Shafir to jump her.

It is unclear what AEW's plans are for Rousey, whether it be a singles match against Storm, a tag team match alongside Shafir or something else entirely.

There is also no telling if Rousey is in AEW for another one-off or for the long haul, but she is a big name in the combat sports world regardless, and she is already generating buzz for the company.

Gunther vs. Mysterio Reportedly in Limbo for WrestleMania

Despite being one of WWE's top stars, Gunther's spot on the WrestleMania 42 card is reportedly in doubt.

According to BodySlam.net (h/t Wrestle Features), WWE had been building toward a WrestleMania match between Gunther and Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio, but Mysterio injured his ribs before Royal Rumble, leading to a change of direction.

It is reportedly now unclear if Gunther will even have a match at WrestleMania unless Mysterio is cleared to compete by then.

During an appearance Sunday on Unlikely with Adrian Hernandez (h/t Shawn Conners of Slam Wrestling), Mysterio revealed that he fractured ribs on his right and left sides during a match against Austin Theory on the Jan. 26 episode of Raw.

While the 51-year-old veteran competed in the men's Royal Rumble match five days later, he has not wrestled since then.

Gunther beat Goldberg, John Cena and AJ Styles in their retirement matches over the past year, so a potential retirement match against Mysterio at WrestleMania would have been perfect for his character.

The Ring General has even been engaged in a rivalry with Mysterio's LWO stablemate Dragon Lee, pulling off Lee's mask en route to victory on the March 2 Raw.

That may have been done to set the stage for Mysterio to return and confront Gunther, but if Mysterio cannot gain clearance, there is no obvious spot for Gunther on the WrestleMania card.

Leaving him off would feel like a missed opportunity for WWE given how much heat Gunther has generated as a heel over the past year.

Escobar Reportedly Scheduled for Triceps Surgery

Santos Escobar is set to undergo surgery to repair a torn triceps on Thursday, according to Fightful Select (h/t WrestlePurists).

Escobar came out on the losing end of a four-way match against La Parka and both El Grande Americanos at AAA Rey De Reyes on Saturday. Escobar looked sluggish in the match, which led to speculation among fans about why that was.

Per Fightful (h/t Sean Rueter of Cageside Seats), Escobar entered that match with an injury, initially suffering it against El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. in late January.

WWE was reportedly hopeful that Escobar avoided a torn triceps, but it was ultimately determined that he did not, requiring surgery that is expected to keep him out of action for months.

In October, PWInsider.com (h/t Carrier) reported that Escobar had signed a new contract with WWE, just one day after he was believed to have become a free agent.

The new deal was reportedly "significantly higher" than the offers WWE had made to Escobar previously.

Escobar, 41, signed with WWE in 2019 and established himself as a top star in NXT, holding the Cruiserweight Championship once. He then had runs in LWO as a babyface and as the leader of Legado del Fantasma as a heel on the main roster.

He was relegated to more of a managerial role for Angel and Berto before his contract expired, but he returned to the ring in January as part of the AAA roster after re-signing with WWE.

It isn't known if there were or are any bigger plans for Escobar on WWE's main roster, but any ideas for Escobar will have to be put on hold as he recovers from major surgery.