Spoiler notes for the Royal Rumble
– As noted before, there was talk of Nia Jax returning to WWE at the Royal Rumble tonight. She turned down an appearance at the 2022 Royal Rumble. In an update, PWInsider reports that Jax is now confirmed to be in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match later tonight. She has been at the arena in San Antonio for a few hours. Regarding Jax’s WWE future, word going around The Alamodome is that she is only working the Women’s Royal Rumble tonight, and as of now she has not signed for a full-time return.
– As we’ve noted, there’s been talk that Chelsea Green and Matt Cardona may return to WWE at the Royal Rumble tonight, with Cardona possibly bringing back his Zack Ryder gimmick. Green has been signed for a few months, and has been waiting on creative plans for her return. In an update, PWInsider has confirmed that Green and Cardona are both currently in San Antonio, and that Green is booked for the Women’s Royal Rumble. It was not confirmed that Cardona is booked, but word is that he’s being hidden from plain sight backstage. A WWE source believed that Cardona would be given several months to fulfill his indie dates that have been announced. Regarding Green’s WWE return, Fightful Select adds that there have been tentative creative plans for her to play a comedic “Karen” character.
– Rey Mysterio may have suffered an injury on last night’s WWE SmackDown. Mysterio missed his scheduled meet & greet in San Antonio this morning, and was replaced by Damian Priest and Dominik Mysterio. This was a last minute change that was booked after last night’s SmackDown ended, according to PWInsider. Word going around earlier today was that Mysterio may have been banged up during his win over Karrion Kross on last night’s SmackDown. Sources later said that Rey was “dinged up but OK” after the match. However, the latest word is that Rey will work the men’s Royal Rumble as he missed the meet & greet so that he could have extra time to rest up.
– – It’s been confirmed that SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair is not booked to appear at The Rumble tonight. She is not currently backstage at The Alamodome. Flair was in San Antonio earlier today to film for WWE but she was never scheduled for the Royal Rumble, and has already left town. Flair will defnd her title against Sonya Deville on next week’s SmackDown. It’s unknown if Flair taped a segment to air during The Rumble but if she did, it was taped before she left town today.
