Thunder Rosa returned to AEW in-ring action in December after saving Abadon from attack by the TBS Champion Julia Hart and Skye Blue. Rosa has been off AEW programming for over a year because she suffered a back injury that would force her to vacate the AEW Women’s World Championship last August. She slowly began appearing on AEW programming again as a member of the AEW Spanish announce team.
Rosa competed in her first singles match since August of 2022 against rising star Queen Aminata on this week’s episode of AEW Collision. It’s not the first time the two have wrestled one another as they met previously on the independents. After some hard-hitting back and forth action, she won her big singles return with a Tijuana Bomb. Aminata was a frequent competitor on AEW Dark before it was dissolved. Though she’s appeared on AEW television since, the appearances have become much more frequent since the end of last year. She’s faced everyone from Blue to former AEW Women’s World Champion Hikaru Shida, Mariah May and former TBS Champion Kris Statlander. She wrestles on Ring of Honor as well, where she has really been a stand out performer. After her impressive match with May on AEW Dynamite, Fightful Select reported Aminata is signed to AEW though the nature of her dear is unclear as to whether it’s tiered or full-time.
On Rosa’s road to recovery, she revealed that Statlander was the one who stepped up to help her train given she’s been through similar situations in regards to near career-ending injuries. “I can share this now. I can talk about it. Kris Statlander was the one who helped me with my first match when I got cleared. I have the footage and I was never able to put it out. Probably now I’m gonna at one point, put it on my YouTube. She volunteered to help me because she’s been through what I went through in terms of injuries. That to me was very empowering having women that want to help you to get better.”
Since Rosa’s been off television, the AEW women’s division has grown a significant amount. With “Timeless” Toni Storm in her third reign as AEW Women’s World Champion and Hart scoring her first championship at AEW Full Gear, an emphasis has been placed on a lot of the younger women in the company. A lot of talent have recently returned from injury, including Red Velvet and Serena Deeb who has been teasing a return for a number of weeks. And, of course, aside from reports about Mercedes Mon? set to ink a deal with AEW, former three-time TNA/IMPACT Knockouts World Champion Deonna Purrazzo has signed with AEW.
Who are you most excited to see Rosa face now that she’s back? Let us know in the comments!