As of this morning, WWE has only announced 12 competitors for the Women’s Royal Rumble match. It is expected that some NXT wrestlers will be added along with a few surprises.
Dave Meltzer noted on Wrestling Observer Radio that Rhea Ripley was scheduled to move up to the main roster two weeks ago but apparently, those plans were delayed.
Meltzer said, “Rhea Ripley is on the main roster. She was gonna debut a couple of weeks ago and they put it off for a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks is now. Debuting her as a surprise in the Rumble and winning the Rumble, that just makes sense.”
On the men’s side of things, there’s no word on any possible surprises but Edge seems to be the favorite and several months ago there was talk of Edge vs. Orton at WrestleMania for the WWE Championship.
Here is the updated card for the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view:
WWE Universal Championship – Last Man Standing Match
Roman Reigns (Champion) vs. Kevin Owens
WWE Championship
Drew McIntyre (Champion) vs. Goldberg
Men’s Royal Rumble Match
Announced so far: Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Otis, The Miz, Jey Uso, Cesaro, Jeff Hardy, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, Shinsuke Nakamura, John Morrison, Sheamus, Mustafa Ali, Edge
Women’s Royal Rumble Match
Announced so far: Nia Jax, Charlotte Flair, Bianca Belair, Bayley, Mandy Rose, Dana Brooke, Peyton Royce, Alexa Bliss, Shayna Baszler, Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott, Tamina
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
Asuka and Charlotte Flair (Champions) vs. Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler
