Royal Rumble 2023: Update on surprise returns set for WWE PLE

The
biggest
one
of
them
should
have
been
Cody
Rhodes
who’s
been
out
of
action
for
more
than
six
months
from
now
but
WWE
confirmed
the
return
ahead
of
the
Rumble
during
this
week’s
episode
of
Raw.

According
to
WrestleVotes
on
Twitter,
they
asked
a
source
in
the
WWE
about
the
reason
behind
announcing
Cody
for
the
match
instead
of
keeping
it
a
secret.

It
was
revealed
that
Cody’s
return
at
Royal
Rumble
was
out
a
long
time
ago
and
the
comeback
expectation
was
so
high
that
it
never
was
a
“surprise
return”
in
the
first
place.
Besides,
the
WWE
Officials
are
reportedly
“more
than
pleased”
with
the
other
surprises
planned
for
the
event.

That
brings
us
to
the
surprise
entrances
into
the
Rumble
as
PWInsider
reports
that
WWE
Hall
of
Famer
Edge
is
scheduled
to
make
his
comeback
alongside
his
wife,
also
a
WWE
Hall
of
Famer
Beth
Pheonix.

The
Rater-R
Superstar
was
last
seen
in
his
“I
Quit
Match”
loss
against
Finn
Balor
at
Extreme
Rules
back
in
October.
Beth
also
suffered
a
brutal
attack
at
the
hands
of
Judgment
Day
on
the
same
night
and
the
real-life
couple
is
possibly
coming
for
vengeance.

At
this
point,
Edge
and
Beth
are
scheduled
to
perform
at
the
Elimination
Chamber
PLE
in
February
and
it
makes
sense
that
they
will
be
inserted
into
WWE
programming,
prior
to
that.
There’s
no
update
on
whether
they’ll
participate
in
the
Men’s
and
Women’s
Rumble
matches,
respectively.

PWInsider
added
that
Logan
Paul,
who
injured
his
knee
at
Crown
Jewel
2022
during
his
match
against
Roman
Reigns,
is
also
speculated
to
return
at
Royal
Rumble
only
if
he
is
fully
recovered
by
that
time.

Another
WWE
Raw
talent,
Doudrop
should
also
be
back
“around
that
time
as
well”.
Recovering
from
illness,
the
Women’s
Rumble
match
seemed
a
perfect
place
for
the
former
NXT
UK
Superstar
to
find
her
way
back
into
WWE’s
red
brand.

Former
WWE
Divas
&
Women’s
Champion,
Michelle
McCool
was
also
expected
to
enter
this
year’s
Royal
Rumble
match.
However,
she
admitted
on
Twitter
that
WWE
never
contacted
her
to
compete
in
the
match.
She
previously
entered
the
2018
and
2022
editions.

Being
a
show
in
her
home
state,
another
former
WWE
Women’s
Champion
Candice
Michelle
has
also
expressed
her
wish
to
enter
the
30-women
Rumble
match.
But
neither
WWE
nor
any
of
the
sources
have
confirmed
her
presence.

WWE
Royal
Rumble
2023
premium
live
event
takes
place,
Saturday,
January
28
at
the
Alamodome
in
San
Antonio,
Texas.
The
current
match
card
for
the
show
goes
as
follows:

–

Undisputed
WWE
Universal
Championship
Match:
Roman
Reigns
(c)
vs.
Kevin
Owens

–

Pitch
Black
Match:
Bray
Wyatt
vs.
LA
Knight

–

Raw
Women’s
Championship
Match:
Bianca
Belair
(c)
vs.
Alexa
Bliss
(stipulation
TBA
by
Bliss)

–

Men’s
Royal
Rumble
Match:
Rey
Mysterio,
GUNTHER,
Baron
Corbin,
Kofi
Kingston,
Ricochet,
Santos
Escobar,
Seth
Rollins,
Austin
Theory,
Bobby
Lashley,
Omos,
Cody
Rhodes,
and
19
Superstars
TBA

–

Women’s
Royal
Rumble
Match:
Raquel
Rodriguez,
Liv
Morgan,
Candice
LaRae,
Rhea
Ripley,
and
26
Superstars
TBA