Thunder Rosa Reveals $60,000 WWE Job Offer in 2019

Thunder Rosa has had a rather successful professional wrestling career, starting back in 2014, and it wouldn't take long for a big break to come when she started working with Lucha Underground the following year.

Singles championship success would come her way in 2020 via Tokyo Joshi Pro and the National Wrestling Alliance. Rosa has since become a mainstay in All Elite Wrestling, formerly holding the AEW Women's World Championship for 172 days back in 2022.

WWE's contract offer to become a referee

Thunder Rosa and Kris Statlander working together | Lee South/All Elite Wrestling

Thunder Rosa has confirmed that WWE offered her a contract to become a referee before she joined the NWA in 2019, and during a chat with Real 92.3 LA, Rosa revealed the amount of money she was offered for the role.

Rosa admits that she needed the money, was primarily relying on her ex-husband, and decided to pursue professional wrestling full-time. She confirmed that the deal with WWE would be $60,000 a year, which she admits was more than what she was making.

"There was a hurricane that happened, and then they just keep, like, pushing my tryout, and it never happened; but it was meant to be that way. And that's when I made the decision to jump into MMA, because they offered me a $3,000 contract.
Thunder Rosa

Rosa's MMA career would consist of only a single fight, a unanimous-decision loss to Nadine Mandiau on a Combate Americas card in November 2019. She retired after signing with AEW in 2021, but eventually returned to the promotion to do commentary for a couple of shows in 2022.

Talking with Real 92.3 LA, she jokes that she had no business in MMA at that time, but is proud of making an attempt at it despite the loss.

Wrestlers turned referees

While things ended up working for Thunder Rosa and she is now making a living from her career with AEW and working other promotions across the globe, she wouldn't have been the first wrestler turned WWE referee if plans had gone in that direction.

Current faces on television such as Jessika Carr and Danilo Anfibio, are a couple of former in-ring performers who are now WWE referees.

patience is virtuous. The virtue is draining. #wweevolve #kalyx @WWE pic.twitter.com/Z0CwBCaWit
— Kalyx (@sheisKALYX) May 7, 2025

Carr, especially, can still be seen wrestling in WWE's Evolve brand under a mask and the name Kalyx, with her most recent match taking place on the April 4th episode of Evolve last year.