They're In: Both Royal Rumbles Feature Several Surprises, Including Other Promotion's Champion

They fit in well. The Royal Rumble is one of the most complicated shows to present every year, as the show requires sixty entrants spread over the show’s two namesake matches. As a result, the matches often include a variety of surprise entrants, ranging from legends to comedy entrants to returning wrestlers. That was the case this year as well, with both matches including surprises.

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There were multiple surprise entrants in both the women’s and men’s Royal Rumble matches. The women’s match included the following entrants:

• Naomi – Returning to WWE after a nearly two year hiatus
• Jordynne Grace – Reigning TNA Knockouts Champion, introduced as champion and wore the title
• Jade Cargill – Made her in-ring debut for WWE after signing in September of last year
• Roxanne Perez – NXT star
• Tiffany Stratton – NXT star
• Liv Morgan – Returning from injury after not wrestling since July of last year

The men’s match included the following entrants:

• Andrade – Returning to WWE after wrestling for AEW from 2021-2023
• Carmelo Hayes – NXT star
• Bron Breakker – NXT star
• Omos – First televised match since August 2023
• Pat McAfee – Guest commentator
• Sami Zayn – First televised match since December 4, 2023

They were big moments. Check out some highlights from the matches:

Opinion: That is how the Royal Rumble tends to go best and they made it work well enough here. There were some problems to the matches but they both had a few surprised to keep the match interesting. Most of the focus needs to be on the active roster but putting some special stars in there is going to be one of the best things that can be done, especially when there are two matches on a single show.