WWE Star Pulled From Royal Rumble For Alexa Bliss

Alexa Bliss made her return to WWE at the Royal Rumble but that came at the expense of another star who missed out on the Rumble match.

Alexa Bliss had not been seen on WWE television since falling to defeat against Bianca Belair at Royal Rumble 2023. The former Raw Women’s Champion revealed a skin cancer diagnosis two months later before giving birth to her first child in November 2023.

As her absence continued, many questions had been raised about her future in the company. Alexa Bliss has teased a return to the ring ahead of the Royal Rumble but reports suggested she still had to work out a deal with WWE.

But a deal was done and Alexa Bliss made her shock return to WWE at the Royal Rumble. Bliss made her entry at number 21 sending the crowd in Indianapolis into raptures. Michael Cole alluded to the online rumours, saying that he thought she wasn’t coming back. Bliss carried her doll Lilly to the ring with her suggesting she would continue with the same presentation she was last seen with.

Given the late nature of Bliss’ agreement with WWE coming together, it meant she took the place of another WWE star who had been scheduled to be part of the Rumble match.

WWE Star Pulled From Royal Rumble For Alexa Bliss

Fightful Select has reported that Alexa Bliss was not part of rehearsals on the Friday before the Rumble took place and that Shotzi had originally been planned for the spot that Bliss ended up taking. That would have marked Shotzi’s first main roster appearance since the 2024 Royal Rumble as she has missed a huge chunk of the year due to a knee injury after returning to NXT.

There was said to be no heat on Alexa Bliss for taking Shotzi’s spot and many were glad to see her back although there was sympathy for Shotzi for missing out.