Despite Paul “Triple H” Levesque touting this year’s Royal Rumble as star-studded, the crowd sure sucked the feeling out of the room. They popped for the big guys — Roman Reigns, Brie Bella, Brock Lesnar, LA Knight — but it fell pretty flat otherwise. However, despite the crowd reaction, there were still some big moments of the night including returns and a debut! We’re diving into the six surprises below.
Brie Bella
Brie Bella has been absent from WWE since the 2022 Royal Rumble. She’s mostly retired, although she and her twin sister, Nikki Bella, contemplated joining the AEW women’s division at one point. With Nikki back in WWE for the last year, Brie was bound to follow. Brie entered at No. 29, matching her gear to her sister. They targeted the Women’s Tag Team Champions, RHIYO, so at least one WrestleMania match might already be decided.
Tiffany Stratton
Tiffy Time lit up Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Stratton hasn’t been seen since she suffered an injury last year. She dropped the Women’s Championship to Jade Cargill and disappeared shortly after. Now she’s back, and she made it to the final three. Although she didn’t win, if last year’s post-Rumble teases were any indication, 2026 will be a big year for Stratton and Sol Ruca.
Royce Keyes (Powerhouse Hobbs)
Powerhouse Hobbs departed AEW when his contract expired and he was expected to sign with WWE. His debut at the Royal Rumble was kept under wraps, which might just be easier given it’s in Saudi. He was eliminated by Bronson Reed, but not before catching an elimination of his own: Damian Priest. That’s a pretty big deal, as Priest is a main player on Monday nights.
La parka & Mr. iguana
This year’s Rumble took advantage of WWE’s working relationship with AAA. La Parka and Mr. Iguana represented the company, but neither of them picked up eliminations. Iguana was eliminated by Trick Williams and La Parka by Austin Theory.
LA Knight
Knight has been out of action due to injury. He came out at No. 21, racking up three eliminations: Austin Theory, Bronson Reed and Brock Lesnar (with the help of Cody Rhodes). He was then eliminated by Rhodes. Not a super great result for the Knight truthers, though.
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