News

WWE Women’s Royal Rumble Update: Lita, Mickie James, Bella Twins, Michelle McCool, More

By John Canton • Published 8th January 2022
wwe royal rumble womens 2022

There were several major names announced for the WWE Women’s Royal Rumble match including former WWE/Divas Champions like Lita, Mickie James, The Bella Twins, Michelle McCool and Kelly Kelly being part of the match.

In addition to those former WWE stars returning for the 30-Woman Royal Rumble match on January 29th, Smackdown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair announced on last night’s Smackdown that she will also be in the Women’s Royal Rumble even though she’s already a current champion.

During a Charlotte Flair promo on last night’s Smackdown, a video aired listing names of women that have already been announced for the 30-Woman Royal Rumble match. Those women are as listed on WWE.com:

Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Carmella, Queen Zelina, Lita, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Dana Brooke, Natalya, Mickie James, Tamina, Shayna Baszler, Summer Rae, Aliyah and Shotzi.

There are 19 names there, so there will be 11 more superstars with some announced and others will likely be surprises.

The inclusion of current Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James (a six-time Women’s Champion in WWE and four-time Knockouts Champion in TNA/Impact) shocked a lot of people since she works for them as well as the NWA. James worked for WWE from 2005 to 2010, then returned in 2017 until her release in April 2021, which led to her being set her stuff in a trash bag and she wasn’t happy about it with good reason.

During the James announcement on Smackdown, announcer Pat McAfee specifically mentioned Impact Wrestling and Mickie holding their women’s title likely because it was part of the deal. IMPACT Wrestling Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore commented on James in the Royal Rumble match in an article on ImpactWrestling.com:

“WWE wanted it, Mickie wanted it and IMPACT Wrestling’s philosophy is always to work with other major promotions to create buzz for the fans. Everything is signed and agreed with WWE and IMPACT Wrestling – the only question is whether or not Mickie will enter one of WWE’s most historic annual matches as the reigning Knockouts World Champion.”

“There’s never been a time like this for wrestling fans. In a 12 month period, IMPACT Wrestling has worked with NWA, AAA, New Japan, AEW and now WWE. IMPACT Wrestling is the nexus of the forbidden door era.”

James is defending her Impact Wrestling Knockouts Title tonight against Deonna Purrazzo at Hard To Kill and she will do so in a Texas Death Match. You can order here on Fite TV. James offered up these comments on Instagram.

Lita and The Bella Twins are WWE Hall of Famers that will be in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. Nikki Bella has had neck issues to deal with for years, but she has apparently been cleared and is ready to go.

Nikki also strongly hinted on Instagram that she and twin sister Brie may be going after the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles in the future. The twin sisters never got a chance to win the titles when they were active, but they could go for them now.

As for the men’s Royal Rumble match, they have only announced seven competitors including actor Johnny Knoxville, who is most known for being in the Jackass movies and TV shows. Knoxville gained entry into the match because he asked for it and also because he threw Sami Zayn over the top to the floor on Smackdown last night.

The seven men officially announced for the Royal Rumble are: Johnny Knoxville, Sheamus, Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio and Austin Theory. That means there are 23 more men that will be announced for the match. Some of them will be surprises most likely.

Another match that was teased during Smackdown last night was Roman Reigns defending the Universal Championship against Seth Rollins. It is not WWE’s Royal Rumble website right now and has not been made official yet, but it was teased during a backstage segment where Rollins laughed in Roman’s face to end Smackdown. That was preceded by WWE Official Adam Pearce telling Reigns, in a previous segment, that he would name Roman’s Royal Rumble opponent by the end of the night. Rollins is currently a Raw superstar while Reigns is on Smackdown, but that doesn’t seem to matter right now.

The next WWE pay-per-view (or Premium Live Event) is the Royal Rumble on Saturday, January 29 from St. Louis. Here’s what we know so far:

wwe royal rumble 2022 brock lesnar bobby lashley

WWE Championship: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Bobby Lashley

WWE Universal Championship: Roman Reigns (c) vs. Seth Rollins

30-Man Royal Rumble Match – Johnny Knoxville, Sheamus, Angelo Dawkins, Montez Ford, Rey Mysterio, Dominik Mysterio and Austin Theory. That means there are 23 more men that will be announced for the match. Some of them will be surprises most likely.

Edge & Beth Phoenix vs. The Miz & Maryse

30-Woman Royal Rumble Match – Charlotte Flair, Naomi, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Carmella, Queen Zelina, Lita, Michelle McCool, Kelly Kelly, Dana Brooke, Natalya, Mickie James, Tamina, Shayna Baszler, Summer Rae, Aliyah and Shotzi. There are 19 names there, so there will be 11 more with some announced and others will likely be surprises.

You can watch WWE Royal Rumble streaming LIVE on Saturday, January 29 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT on WWE Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else.