Thunder Rosa Feared Latest Injury Was Career Ending

Thunder Rosa returns to action tonight on AEW Collision against Julia Hart, but there was a point where she thought she would never be able to wrestle again.

Thunder Rosa | IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Thunder Rosa was worried tonight's in-ring return on AEW Collision was never going to happen.

Last year at AEW All In: Texas, Thunder Rosa suffered an injury during the Women's Casino Gauntlet match. While the nature of her injury has never been revealed, it was serious enough to keep her out of action for seven months.

La Mera Mera appeared in a backstage segment Wednesday night on AEW Dynamite alongside Kris Statlander. It was a good news, bad news situation: Statlander wasn't cleared to compete, but Rosa had recently been cleared to return to action. She will face Julia Hart later tonight on Collision.

Thunder Rosa vs. Julia Hart on AEW Collision | All Elite Wrestling

All Elite Wrestling's Thunder Rosa recently appeared on Off The Ropes for Busted Open Radio. While discussing her return to the ring, Rosa admitted that this was a dark time for her and she worried at times that her career was over.

"I'm just nervous," Thunder Rosa admitted. "It's always good to have nerves right before a big return. This is the second time that I've been gone for a long period of time. I've been out for eight months, I could tell you physical therapy was key for me to come back.

"It was rough, and just the fact that I had to take smaller steps to do simple things, it took me a while. And it was very scary. So now the pressure is on even more for myself... I am beyond excited.

"I have a message to everyone who's been super supportive for my comeback, that it's important not to give up, especially during dark times, because this injury, believe me, it was dark. There were some moments that I was like, I'm probably never going to wrestle again. So I'm extremely excited about Collision to wrestle Julia Hart."

Thunder Rosa is part of a stacked episode off AEW Collision this evening

TONIGHT!

Take a look at some of the action lined up for Saturday Night #AEWCollision!

Don't miss a moment starting LIVE at 8/7c on @TNTDrama + @SportsOnMAX, TONIGHT! pic.twitter.com/RQUt70DI8o

— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) February 21, 2026

Tonight's live episode of AEW Collision comes to us from the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California. It will not only feature Thunder Rosa's in-ring return, but two huge title matches.

Jet Set Rodeo will defend their AEW World Trios Titles for the first time against The Demand. Ricochet and GOA laid out the challenge on Dynamite, which the champions quickly accepted. But will a looming Jungle Jack Perry once again play the foil for the current AEW National Champion? Tune in to find out.

In addition, Claudio Castagnoli of the Death Riders will be in action, putting the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship on the line against Josh Alexander of the Don Callis Family. It's clear that Callis is looking to add as many championships to his group as possible, and taking a title away from the Death Riders would be quite the accomplishment in the ongoing war between the two factions.

The Takedown on SI will have complete coverage of tonight's episode of AEW Collision later this evening.

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