Fans haven't seen Thunder Rosa in action since the August 15, 2022 episode of AEW Dark: Elevation. Before her scheduled title defense against Toni Storm at AEW All Out 2022, Rosa relinquished the AEW Women's Title due to a back injury and has not returned to the ring.
While Rosa has been out of action, Toni Storm won the Interim AEW Women's Title, which was later recognized as the undisputed AEW Women's Championship when it became evident that Rosa wasn't close to returning.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Rosa once again addressed her injury.
"I'm not cleared. I have not been cleared. There are more things that have happened in the past couple of weeks. I've gotten in the ring, and unfortunately, the pain is still there. It's very frustrating. I want to get in the ring and do what I do best and that's wrestle. To get that opportunity again. I know there's been a lot of controversy in the last couple of weeks and Thunder Rosa has been trending on Twitter, I don't use Twitter, but I get constant messages that I'm trending. It's weird. We have All Access which has stirred a lot of stuff that I tried to put aside because it's painful. I think listeners are tired of me 'complaining.' I don't want to make this a complaint. I don't want to make this about me. I want to make this about focusing on the AEW women's division, which I'm very impressed with, especially the last couple of weeks. Our champion, Jamie Hayter is one of the hardest hitting women in the world. Riho, Emi Sakura, we are seeing some different matchups and they have been awesome. I feel it's taken a backseat because people are talking about this," she said.
A clip was played from the most recent episode of AEW All Access where Tony Schiavone speaks to Britt Baker about "letting things go" regarding Rosa. Baker has commented in the past that she never doubted Rosa's injury, but questioned why she wasn't showing up when she was the champion.
"First and foremost, I want to make sure people understand, at the beginning of this drama, everyone was speculating that I wasn't hurt. It was proven that I was hurt. There are MRIs, they talked to my doctor, I had multiple epidurals, and I'm still not cleared. I had another MRI last week and the pain is still there. For me, personally, I wanted to drop the title the day that I couldn't wrestle because they told me I was going to be out four to six weeks. My boss [Tony Khan] made the decision and said, 'you're going to be the champion and we're going to have an interim champion.' For me, as a competitor, I wanted to make it fair so my peers had an opportunity to defend the championship because it wasn't fair that I wasn't there, I wasn't going to be there, and I was going to hold the title. The problem comes, and this has been the question raised about me not showing up; I wasn't booked to go there. When I got the news that I wasn't going to keep the title, it caught me by surprise. 'Today is the day, okay.' I wasn't able to go. I wasn't able to get in the ring and say, 'Guys. Unfortunately we made the decision, here is the title, thank you for the opportunity to let me represent.' That opportunity wasn't given to me. That's pretty much it.
"I want to make sure we focus on the women's division now. I'm not there in the ring. I'm not a superhero to be able to get in the ring. We have to respect the people that are now representing the company. I have talked to the locker room. I took accountability for the things that some people had issues with me, and I went out there and apologized. That's the best thing I can do. I want to make money. I want to make sure I can work with everyone, regardless if we have any issues or not. At the end of the day, I'm booked to wrestle, unfortunately I can't wrestle right now. I'm human, I don't pretend to be a superhuman. I'm not here to be a martyr and I don't want to be a victim. Right now, there is no storyline between Britt Baker and I. God as my witness, every morning and every night, I pray to God that there is one thing I want to do and one thing only. Not to get the championship, but to settle this in the ring, for once and all, and wrestle Britt Baker and show the world what a real professional wrestler is."
Rosa noted there have been real feuds that have been capitalized on because the performers were able to put things to the side and do what is best for business. She also said she has respect for the women who have continued to put their bodies on the line every week.
Rosa has been doing commentary for AEW events while she is unable to compete in the ring. It is unknown when she will wrestle again.
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