Thunder Rosa Reveals WWE Offered Her a Referee Contract, Requiring Retirement from In-Ring Competition
Former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa revealed that in 2019, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) offered her a contract to work as a referee for a salary of $60,000 per year. However, the offer came with a significant condition: she would have had to retire from in-ring competition.
Speaking on The Cruz Reveal on REAL 92.3 LA, Rosa discussed her perspective on WWE and the contrasting opportunities available in other promotions like Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling. She recounted attending WrestleMania 25 and how the experience influenced her career path.
Financial Struggles and the WWE Offer
Rosa explained that she was facing financial difficulties at the time and actively seeking stable income. “In 2019, (WWE) called me and they were like, ‘Are you ready to hang up the boots?’ I was like, ‘Well, you know, I need money.’ So I was like, ‘I need steady money’ because, brother, being an independent professional wrestler is, when you’re talking about hustle, it’s a hustle,” she stated. She had previously worked a job in the Bay Area but found herself relying on her ex-husband and independent wrestling income after deciding to pursue wrestling full-time.
The $60,000 annual salary offered by WWE was appealing, but the requirement to conclude her in-ring career presented a difficult choice. A planned tryout was postponed due to a hurricane, ultimately leading Rosa to pursue other opportunities.
From MMA to AEW
Following the stalled WWE tryout, Rosa signed a contract with Combate Americas in mixed martial arts, earning $3,000. She later signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020, where she achieved significant success, becoming the AEW Women’s World Champion in 2022 in a steel cage match against Britt Baker. She relinquished the title in November 2022 due to a serious back injury.
Thunder Rosa, born Melissa Cervantes on July 22, 1986, in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, has too wrestled under the ring names Kobra Moon, Serpiente, and Serpiente del Mar. She debuted in 2014 and has appeared in promotions including World Wonder Ring Stardom (Stardom), Impact Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). She also founded Mission Pro Wrestling (MPW), a Texas-based independent promotion focused on women’s wrestling. [1]
Rosa’s career demonstrates a commitment to in-ring performance, leading her to decline a financially stable, but career-altering, offer from WWE.
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